Abbott Laboratories’ vision care unit, which has more than 600 workers in Orange County, represents “significant prospects” for the company, according to a recent article on the Seeking Alpha investor website.
Author Andy Batts said much of the growth would come now that Abbott Medical Optics Inc. received European regulatory approval for its Tecnis Symfony intraocular lens that provides an extended vision range and is used to treat cataract patients with presbyopia, a condition that reduces the eye’s ability to focus on near objects.
“Since cataract lenses account for more than 65% of vision care sales for Abbott, I believe that the company’s upcoming Tecnis lenses will drive its vision care revenue significantly,” Batts said.
Chicago-based Abbott’s vision care revenue totaled $1.1 billion last year, or 20% of its $5.5 billion in medical device revenue.
Batts quoted statistics from the World Health Organization mentioning that there were 3.5 million cataract surgeries in Europe in 2013, with a global annual target of 32 million cataract surgeries by 2020.
“This new [intraocular lens] demonstrates Abbott’s consistent innovation in bringing new treatment options to market, enabling physicians to offer their patients clear vision after cataract surgery,” said Murthy Simhambhatla, an Abbott senior vice president who runs Santa Ana-based Abbott Medical.
Abbott Medical “will enjoy the first mover advantage with its implantable Tecnis lenses in the growing vision care market,” Batts said, adding that the global vision care device market is expected to reach $46 billion by 2017.
Abbott dove deeply into vision care in 2010 when it spent $2.8 billion for the then-Advanced Medical Optics Inc.
Batts pointed out that no Food and Drug Administration-approved implantable device is on the market to treat presbyopia, although “a few startups are working to develop presbyopia implants.”
The startups seeking to compete with Abbott in coming years include a pair of Orange County entries.
One is AcuFocus Inc., which is based in Irvine and led by James Mazzo, a veteran of Abbott and Advanced Medical. The other is Lake Forest-based ReVision Optics Inc., whose financial backers include the Johnson & Johnson Development Corp., the investment arm of New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson.
Saudi Arabian School Collaboration
The University of California-Irvine’s Center for Epigenetics and Metabolism said late last month that it would work with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology on researching how genes and metabolism shape bodies and minds.
King Abdullah University is in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
UC Irvine scientists will “bring proficiency in metabolism, nutrition, behavior and neuroscience” to the partnership, UCI said in a news release. They will team with scientists in King Abdullah’s environmental epigenetics program, which focuses on adaptation and
behavior, as well as cell plasticity and metabolism.
Working with King Abdullah “fulfills two major aspects of our mission,” said Dr. Ralph Clayman, former dean of UCI’s School of Medicine. “It provides for unique scientific collaboration, and the student exchange, sabbatical professorships and the international congress on epigenetic control should further enrich this collaboration, providing benefits to both institutions.”
Vestiage Gets $10M
Vestiage Inc., a Newport Beach-based maker of nutraceutical products, said last month that it received $10 million from Washougal, Wash.-based Media Funding Group.
Vestiage will use the money to expand its advertising and marketing campaigns. Scott Kimball, the company’s chief executive, said in a statement that it expects to air its television commercial next month and will continue spending money on radio advertisements.
The company’s products are sold under the RegiMEN brand and are available online, as well as at select GNC stores and all Hi-Health retail stores.
Bits & Pieces
Irvine-based healthcare software maker Quality Systems Inc. said it won 10 awards in the 12th American Business Awards competition. The awards included Company of the Year in the health products and services category, as well as the Marketing Team of the Year. … In other Quality Systems news, Dr. Sarah Corley, chief medical officer of its NextGen Healthcare Information Systems LLC subsidiary, was elected vice chair of
the Health Information Systems Management Society’s Electronic Health Record Association.
