IntraLase Corp., the Irvine-based eye laser maker, has hit a milestone: making money.
IntraLase saw its shares surge more than 10% late last month after logging a profitable first quarter,the first since its 1997 start.
The company reported net income of $2 million for the first quarter, versus a $2.1 million loss a year ago. Sales more than doubled to $21 million.
The results came in ahead of what analysts were expecting.
More doctors using IntraLase’s products led the company to increase “our share of the market while operating profitably,” Chief Executive Robert Palmisano said.
Getting IntraLase’s devices into the hands of refractive eye surgeons is key to IntraLase’s growth, Palmisano has said.
“Once a doctor has one of our units in their practice, they generally convert their practice almost totally,” he said.
IntraLase also said its fees grew 91% to $9 million in the period. The company earns a fee for every eye surgery done with its devices.
Palmisano said after IntraLase went public in an $86 million October offering, “They don’t use the technology that they were using much anymore.”
IntraLase’s devices are used to cut a flap into a patient’s cornea,the first step in eye corrective surgery.
The lasers are designed to replace a microkeratome, a mechanical device that uses a metal blade to cut a flap. Palmisano calls microkeratomes “an outdated technology.”
Santa Ana-based Advanced Medical Optics Inc. and Rochester, N.Y.-based Bausch & Lomb Inc. make microkeratomes.
UCI Studies Iron Overload
Researchers from the University of California, Irvine, were part of a team that found that a blood disorder that causes hemochromatosis, or iron overload disease, is more prevalent than thought.
Study results showed that Asians and Pacific Islanders had the greatest prevalence of elevated blood iron test levels of all ethnic groups studied. In addition, Caucasians were found to have a relatively high tendency to develop the disease.
UC Irvine was responsible for screening 20,400 patients out of more than 100,000 at five medical centers in the U.S. and Canada.
The UCI researchers enrolled study participants at several locations, including the UCI Family Health Centers in Anaheim, Orange, Santa Ana and Westminster, and at the Gottschalk Medical Plaza on the university campus.
Iron overload disease is potentially fatal. It is caused by abnormally high iron levels in the body, which can lead to accumulations of the mineral in vital body organs. That accumulation leads to an increased risk for disorders such as liver disease, liver cancer, heart disease and sexual dysfunction. It is not curable, but early detection usually leads to treatment that can prevent complications.
Full results appeared in the April 28 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. Funding for the UCI portion of the study totaled $4.7 million and came from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the National Human Genome Research Institute.
Addressing Healthcare Literacy
Sometimes it seems healthcare providers and insurers speak a language unto themselves. The Institute for Healthcare Advancement, a La Habra-based not-for-profit group that studies healthcare delivery issues, presented “Culture, Language and Clinical Issues: Operational Solutions to Low Health Literacy” last week at the Hyatt Regency Irvine.
The conference brought together representatives from public groups, governmental agencies and companies to review ways to improve healthcare literacy. This year’s theme mainly explored how different cultures and languages affect healthcare-related communications.
Breakout sessions included looking at the need for increased research dissemination in culturally, linguistically and literacy-relevant cancer communication strategies and a report about the four phases of the American Medical Association’s 10-year effort to create change in clinical practice pertinent to national health literacy education issues.
Bits and Pieces:
John Gibson, senior vice president, pharmaceutical development, of Allergan Inc., Irvine, is a featured speaker at the Larta Institute’s annual Venture Forum set for May 25 and 26 at the Wilshire Grand Hotel in Los Angeles. Other speakers with OC ties include Elliot Parks, managing director of life sciences at Ventana Capital Management LLC, Irvine, and Shiv Grewal, a partner at Stradling, Yocca, Carlson & Rauth, Newport Beach. The forum also is set to feature some 75 life science companies funded by the National Institutes of Health Dr. Marilyn Belek of Delta Dental presents “Smile Your Way to Better Health, A Review of Dental Trends” at the May 19 meeting of the Orange County Employee Benefit Council. The meeting is set for the Beckman Center across the street from UCI. Information: (714) 573-8605 Ista Pharmaceuticals Inc., Irvine, filed a new drug application with the Food and Drug Administration to start third-phase clinical studies of a combination eye drug to treat steroid-responsive inflammatory eye conditions where a risk of bacterial infection exists. Separately, the drug maker presented last week at the Rodman & Renshaw Global Healthcare Conference at the Intercontinental Hotel in Paris.
