Premier agrees to sell ophthalmic laser division to SurgiLight

SurgiLight will acquire intellectual property and inventory from Premier, including 14 patents, 13 patents pending and stock of 100 ophthalmic systems.

ORLANDO — SurgiLight announced Oct. 18 that it has concluded the acquisition of the ophthalmic laser division of Premier Laser Systems (Irvine, Calif.), an all-cash deal of $3.72 million payable within 4 months.

Premier and SurgiLight announced Sept. 26 that they had signed an agreement under which SurgiLight would acquire Premier’s ophthalmic laser division.

SurgiLight now owns all the intellectual property and inventory of Premier’s ophthalmic division. The intellectual property includes more than 14 patents, 13 patents pending and numerous Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearances.

The granted patents cover the use of an infrared erbium laser for three areas of ophthalmic application: glaucoma, cataract and refractive surgery. Premier’s FDA clearances cover a range of methods of a incision and excision of tissues of the eye. SurgiLight intends to continue ongoing clinical trials in cataract treatment and other applications using the erbium laser.

The purchase bodes well for research and development-oriented SurgiLight. According to a report prepared by Premier, the cataract market is estimated to be approximately 2.6 million procedures annually in the United States and another 4.5 million procedures internationally. Glaucoma is estimated to be more than 40% of the global ophthalmic pharmaceutical market. SurgiLight will start to market in the United States and internationally immediately for the cleared procedures.

Bright future for SurgiLight

Because of the acquisition, SurgiLight’s will also include the use of various optical fibers for eye surgery. SurgiLight will also own numerous FDA clearances, including the EX-308 for laser treatment of psoriasis and the IR-3000 series for ophthalmic uses.

“[This purchase] allows us to start marketing in the United States immediately. It also allows us to distribute worldwide as well,” said Tim Shea, executive vice president and COO of SurgiLight.

The Premier ophthalmic division purchase gives SurgiLight 100 manufactured ophthalmic systems ready for sale now. They are also negotiating with several companies to begin manufacturing the systems for future sale.

While he refrained from trying to guess what kind of market share SurgiLight could expect from the purchase and distribution of the Premier technology, Mr. Shea did explain that because the market is very sizeable the purchase shows excellent potential for the company. He also mentioned that one of the Premier patents currently in the FDA pipeline deals with presbyopia and will likely be a boon for the company considering the aging of the baby-boomer generation.

In a press release, J.T. Lin, PhD, president and CEO of SurgiLight commented, “We are very excited about the potential of this new product line and anticipate an increase in sales and revenue. The additional intellectual properties, patents and FDA clearances further solidifies our technological advantages over our competitors.”

SurgiLight claims that the acquisition of Premier’s ophthalmic laser division will strengthen its infrared laser technology and patent rights for both its existing and developing systems.

This acquisition of Premier’s inventory plus SurgiLight’s existing products will allow it to market its products for immediate revenue.

In addition to marketing the FDA cleared products, SurgiLight intends to continue the ongoing clinical studies of laser for cataracts and glaucoma treatment, for vitiligo treatment and for presbyopia reversal. The potential market for presbyopia is estimated to be more than $150 billion in the United States and $1.5 trillion internationally. In the press release, SurgiLight stated that it believes it is the first company to own the technology of “laser presbyopia reversal,” with 4 patents pending in the United States.

Solid foundation for Premier

Michael J. Quinn, president and CEO of Premier said, “We are pleased to be selling the ophthalmic laser technology and inventory to SurgiLight. The sale of the combined assets enables Premier to obtain optimum value for its stakeholders.”

The transaction between the parties is a culmination of a month-long series of negotiations for control of Premier’s ophthalmic laser division. The Magnum Group Inc., of Tiburon, Calif., financial advisers to Premier, managed the negotiations.

Randy McDonald, managing director for Magnum, stated in a press release that he was confident the deal maximizes the asset value of Premier’s ophthalmic lasers and that SurgiLight will maximize these assets and immediately enter the market with this important technology.

The transaction was subject to customary closing conditions and approval by the bankruptcy court in which Premier’s chapter 11 case is pending.

Premier had never formally commercialized its ophthalmic laser product line. Because its corporate plans focused on research and development and not sales, it was pursuing approvals to use the technology in the treatment of glaucoma and cataracts.

For Your Information:

• Tim Shea and J.T. Lin, PhD, can be reached at SurgiLight Inc., 12001 Science Dr., Ste. 140, Orlando, FL 32826; (407) 482-4555; fax: (407) 482-0505; e-mail: surgilight@aol.com.
• Michael J. Quinn can be reached at Premier Laser Systems Inc., 3 Morgan, Irvine, CA 92618; (800) 544-8044; fax: (949) 951-7218; Web site: www.premierlaser.com.