Abbott completed its acquisition of Advanced Medical Optics last month. AMO is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Abbott and has been renamed Abbott Medical Optics Inc.
Abbott says acquisition of AMO enhances and strengthens its diverse mix of medical device businesses and gives it a leadership position in the large and growing eye-care market. Abbott Medical Optics holds the number one position in LASIK surgical devices, the number two position in the cataract surgical device market and the number three position in contact lens care products.
"As with previous acquisitions that have strengthened and diversified our business, we're entering a market that's aligned with demographic trends and growing medical need," said John M. Capek, executive vice president of Medical Devices at Abbott. "This acquisition provides Abbott access to a $22 billion global market and the opportunity to help a very large patient population."
James Mazzo, president of AMO, says the company will continue to be run as a separate entity, no changes in personnel are anticipated, and in the short term, little will change.
"Our customers are not going to see any difference in personnel or in our commitment to ophthalmology," says Mr. Mazzo, "As the years go on, they may see an acceleration in our plans and a support that maybe some of our competitors who are not part of a large, health-care focused company won't have."
He cites a similar corporate culture as a reason for optimism about the integration of the two companies.
"We have made many acquisitions since our spin-off from Allergan seven years ago," says Mr. Mazzo. "The ones that have been extremely successful have not been simply because the technologies are successful; that's why you buy them. The ones that have been extremely successful have been because the culture is the same. In my short time, I have seen the culture of [Abbott]; we are in a business of taking care of patients and they understand that. They have expertise and reach, and a strong understanding of how to keep a brand and maintain a brand and how to make sure that you never jeopardize the brand."
Financial stability is another plus that Mr. Mazzo cites in a down economy. "We continue to have a fiduciary responsibility and I will always be concerned about the economy, but this allows us to not have to worry on a daily basis, as a public entity" about such issues as stock prices. "This affords us resources that maybe we can make an investment that I couldn't have in the past under the pressure of being a public-oriented company, or even more, the pressure of the economy on our LASIK franchise.
We can make a case for things that maybe we couldn't in the past. We don't have to do things we don't want to."
In fact, the acquisition speaks to the promise of the market segment, Mr. Mazzo believes. "How many [industries] will someone the size of an Abbott come in and want to play there? It's more the other way; people are getting out of sectors. I see this as a huge positive. I'd feel pretty proud of this if I were an ophthalmologist."
Abbott is devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics. The company employs more than 72,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries.
New DSEK Device Comes On-Line
In mid-March, corneal specialists got a new option for transplanting endothelial grafts, the Neusidl Corneal Inserter (Fischer Surgical,
"The important thing is that at no time is the donor endothelium touching itself," says Sadeer Hannush, attending surgeon at Wills Eye's corneal service and an NCI investigator. He has no financial interest in the device. "The donor tissue goes on a platform that's retracted into the inserter without Healon, rolling into it as one might roll his tongue into a U-shape. Specifically, the platform comes out of the tube of the inserter and the tissue is placed endothelial side up, stromal side against the platform. Then, you retract it into the tube, which is measured exactly to allow this platform to roll into almost a perfect circle. The tissue isn't compressed or folded, and there's always a space in the middle, so, at no time is endothelium touching endothelium unless you use a graft larger than 8.5 mm." The inserter goes through a 5-mm incision.
Complementing the atraumatic graft platform is a novel irrigation system designed to overcome the inherent disadvantages of using an injector with a relatively large incision.
"When you're inserting graft tissue with any inserter mechanism, the insertion site fish-mouths, and the chamber collapses," explains Dr. Hannush. "In response, many surgeons like to put a sideport with an irrigation line connected to a bottle to keep the chamber formed. The benefit of the NCI is that, instead of putting the irrigation through a sideport, it's through the end of the inserting device. Therefore, when the inserting device goes through the incision and fish-mouths it, if you will, it's also irrigating to maintain the chamber."
Dr. Hannush has used the NCI for 12 grafts thus far. Four of the patients are at the five-month follow-up point, and their endothelial cell counts are in the 2,000 range. Dr. Hannush and his fellow NCI investigators Michael Belin, Mark Terry and Andrew Huang plan to continue to study the outcomes of the device to get a handle on its long-term performance. Dr. Terry is currently planning an Institutional Review Board-approved study comparing the NCI to the standard implantation technique with forceps.
"There aren't results from large numbers of NCI grafts yet," says Dr. Hannush. "But there is excitement from users based on their initial impressions after having worked with the device."
Iontophoresis Dry-Eye Study Advances, Results Due Soon
EyeGate Pharma has fully enrolled and completed all follow-up visits for all patients participating in its Phase II safety and efficacy study of EGP-437 (a combination drug/device) for treating dry-eye syndrome. The results of this study are expected in the second quarter of 2009. The Phase II, single-center, randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled study of 89 patients evaluated the safety and efficacy of a corticosteroid solution administered by the EyeGate II Delivery System (at two dose levels) twice over a three-week period. EGP-437 is also being evaluated in a Phase I/II clinical study of severe uveitis. These trials with EGP-437 represent the first
