IntraLase files to go public

IRVINE, Calif. — Laser manufacturer IntraLase filed with government securities regulators last week for an initial public offering of common stock. The shares will be listed on the Nasdaq exchange under the symbol “ILSE,” according to a press release from IntraLase.

Statements filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission indicate that the company’s IPO may be for as much as $92 million in common stock.

IntraLase makes and markets the FS laser, a femtosecond laser that, according to company documents filed with the SEC, “improves the safety, precision and visual acuity of LASIK surgery by providing a computer-controlled laser solution as an alternative to the handheld mechanical, metal-bladed microkeratome traditionally used to create the corneal flap.”

As of March 31, 2004, the company reported, it had sold or leased 123 lasers and sold about 156,000 per-procedure disposable patient interfaces. Based on total LASIK procedure volume, the company calculated that its device had about 12% market share in the United States.

As part of the filing of its registration statement with the SEC, IntraLase noted some risks related to the industry. The documents noted that the company’s continued success depends on the continued acceptance of LASIK surgery by surgeons and the public.

The company considers Bausch & Lomb, Moria/Microtech, Advanced Medical Optics and Nidek its primary competitors, the IntraLase filing documents noted.

In the document filed with the SEC, the number of shares and the price per share for the IPO were not announced.