MONROVIA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ: STAA), a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of implantable lenses and companion delivery systems for the eye, today announced a Strategic Cooperation Agreement with the Smile Eyes Group, an alliance of more than 80 eye experts across 13 vision correction eye centers in Germany and Austria. The agreement positions the EVO Visian ICL family of lenses as a premium and primary refractive procedure for patients suffering from nearsightedness (distance vision correction needs). EVO is the latest version of STAAR Surgical Company’s implantable collamer lens (ICL) that works with the patient’s natural eye to correct vision and provide patients visual freedom from spectacles and contact lenses. The central hole of the EVO lens allows for the eye’s natural nourishing aqueous flow and a single surgical procedure.
“We have only our patients’ eyes in mind at the Smile Eyes Group so high medical and aesthetic standards are especially important to me, as I consider the comfort and well-being of our patients,” said Dr. Laszlo Kiraly, Founder and Medical Director of the Smile Eyes Clinic in Leipzig, Germany. “I see the patient as diopter independent and judge each by the cornea, and patient needs, not by the diopter in terms of EVO Visian ICL excellence and safety. To me there is no difference in the precise and excellent outcome with EVO Visian ICL, whether I treat a low or high refractive error,” concluded Dr. Kiraly.
“The EVO Visian ICL procedure is fascinating to me because of its effectiveness and quality of vision only a few hours after surgery. During the 10 years I have been performing ICL surgery, I have seen happy EVO patients with outstanding results and the ICL procedure has become a premium and primary solution for vision correction within our treatment spectrum,” stated Dr. Martin Bechmann, Founder of the Smile Eyes Group. “Over time, we have learned the limitations of different refractive procedures, and we have learned that the ICL family of lenses can treat nearly every patient’s refractive error with stable and excellent results, no matter if the patient is myopic, hyperopic – with or without astigmatism. I am looking forward to our cooperation as an official Strategic Cooperation Partner with STAAR Surgical, as I believe that working with strong partners is a crucial element of practice success today,” concluded Dr. Bechmann.
In 2016 STAAR Surgical Company announced the first Strategic Cooperation Agreements with customers that now serves as the model for how the Company conducts business. STAAR offers patient education, surgeon training, and co-marketing support in exchange for committed levels of growth and patient education by the clinic and positioning of the ICL family of lenses as premium and primary.
“Our new agreement with the Smile Eyes Group positions the EVO Visian ICL™ intraocular family of lenses as a primary and premium option for patients seeking visual freedom from glasses and contact lenses,” said Caren Mason, President and CEO of STAAR Surgical Company. “Surgeon owners Dr. Laszlo Kiraly and Dr. Martin Bechmann have demonstrated a high level of excellence and dedication to our ICL lenses. They are considered experts in the field of refractive surgery and have each been awarded the EVO Visian ICL Award several times including in 2018. Both surgeons have performed the ICL procedure on physician colleagues who now speak as testament to their visual freedom experiences to potential patients. Germany is the fifth largest market for refractive vision correction procedures in the world and represents an important market for STAAR Surgical’s lenses. We look forward to working closely with the Smile Eyes Group on patient education, marketing, and surgeon training under this new strategic cooperation agreement.”
About STAAR Surgical
STAAR, which has been dedicated solely to ophthalmic surgery for over 30 years, designs, develops, manufactures and markets implantable lenses for the eye with companion delivery systems. These lenses are intended to provide visual freedom for patients, lessening or eliminating the reliance on glasses or contact lenses. All of these lenses are foldable, which permits the surgeon to insert them through a small incision. STAAR’s lens used in refractive surgery is called an Implantable Collamer® Lens or “ICL”, which includes the EVO Visian ICL™ product line. More than 900,000 Visian ICLs have been implanted to date. To learn more about the ICL go to: www.discovericl.com. STAAR has approximately 400 full-time equivalent employees and markets lenses in over 75 countries. Headquartered in Monrovia, CA, the company operates manufacturing facilities in Aliso Viejo, CA and Monrovia, CA. For more information, please visit the Company’s website at www.staar.com.
