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Allergan, Visx form marketing alliance for refractive products
Both companies reported great interest in the new Amadeus, Star S3 at ASCRS meeting.
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BOSTON – A marketing alliance between Allergan (Irvine, Calif.) and Visx (Santa Clara, Calif.) has been formed to deliver the new Amadeus microkeratome, Star S3 excimer laser and WaveScan wavefront analysis system to markets throughout the Americas.
The Amadeus is manufactured by Surgical Instrument Systems (SIS) of Biel, Switzerland, which granted Allergan marketing rights for North and South America. According to Ron Bache, Allergan’s U.S. marketing manager for refractive surgery, Lee Nordan, MD, played matchmaker for the two companies.
"He recommended that Allergan take a look at the SIS technology," Mr. Bache told Ocular Surgery News. "He believed that it really brought something new to the marketplace."
Dr. Nordan later became the medical monitor for the work that led to the 510(k) clearance for the Amadeus by the Food and Drug Administration.
Unique design
The design of the Amadeus is quite different from other instruments on the market, and it allows the surgeon to create corneal flaps one-handed. The motor unit, suction ring and blade holder – all made from titanium — are assembled before the instrument is placed on the eye. The proprietary SurePass stainless steel disposable blade is also manufactured by SIS, and it is driven with a gearless 2-motor system. The blade oscillation rate is variable from 4,000 to 20,000 repetitions per minute depending on surgeon preference.
"It is Swiss-engineered to be easy for the surgeon and the technicians," Mr. Bache said. "The surgeon doesn’t have to engage gears or dovetails with the suction ring on the eye. It’s just 1-2-3 and you have a flap."
ASCRS debut
The marketing alliance between Allergan and Visx was announced just before the annual meeting here of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, and both companies reported an enthusiastic response from surgeons.
"We saw a tremendous amount of excitement on the floor here," said Tom Dunlap, vice president of surgical for Allergan.
"We have been swamped all day, every day," Mr. Bache said.
The Allergan-Visx marketing alliance means that ophthalmologists will be able to purchase a whole package of refractive surgery products from both companies. It was the possibility to offer more products to their customers without stepping too far outside their established businesses that drew Allergan and Visx to the current arrangement.
"We lead the market in lasers," said Visx director of marketing Shareef Mahdavi, "and we had been looking for a microkeratome. But we didn’t find any arrangement that met both our technical and financial requirements until Allergan came to us. The Amadeus addresses the major issues in making a LASIK flap and the combined efforts of our companies should lead to better refractive products for our customers."
The feeling was the same at Allergan.
Market leadership
"We wanted to take advantage of Visx’s market leadership," Mr. Dunlap said. "The Amadeus fits in with our core competency in marketing and servicing an ophthalmic instrument, but there was no great benefit to Allergan in owning a laser. Plus, the new technology pipelines at Visx and and Allergan were something we could really get excited about."
"The Star S3 excimer laser and the Amadeus are forward-looking platforms for future development." Mr. Mahdavi agreed. "But this is also the platform that can give surgeons better results now. The recently approved WaveScan wavefront system addresses the problem of inaccurate refraction, which currently is the single biggest factor limiting the results of refractive surgery."
Although the buzzword around the ASCRS convention was customized ablation, Mr. Mahdavi pointed out that its theoretical advantages have not yet been confirmed by clinical evidence.
"It is premature to be promoting custom ablation as a way to get better visual results," he said.
How alliance works
Allergan and Visx have undertaken a joint promotional campaign for the Amadeus that has begun with the public debut of the microkeratome (and the Visx Star S3 laser and WaveScan system) at the ASCRS meeting.
Surgeons who are interested in purchasing the Amadeus, a Visx excimer laser or both can now approach either Allergan or Visx to obtain the instruments. If the microkeratome is bought along with a laser, the purchaser will receive a discount off the total price had the two been purchased separately. Customized financing can be arranged through both companies, and the Amadeus will be available to current Visx laser users under the Visx Technology Conversion Plan.
"This is a great example of two market leaders coming together to bring greater value to the ophthalmologist," Mr. Dunlap said.
For Your Information:
- Ron Bache is U.S. marketing manager, refractive surgery, Allergan, 2525 Dupont Drive, Irvine, CA 92623; (714) 246-2495; fax: (714) 246-2440; e-mail: bache_ron@allergan.com.
- Tom Dunlap is vice president, surgical, Allergan, 2525 Dupont Drive, Irvine, CA 92623; (714) 246-2495; fax: (714) 246-2440.
- Shareef Mahdavi is director of marketing, Visx, 3400 Central Expressway, Santa Clara, CA 95051; (408) 773-7009; fax: (408) 730-1399; e-mail: shareefm@visx.com.