-.32 vs. -.40 expected.
KeraVision Reports Record Revenues for 3rd Quarter
Doctors Trained Reaches 448 As Acceptance of IntacsTM Grows
Fremont, CA (October 19, 1999) -- KeraVision, Inc. (Nasdaq: KERA), developer of Intacs -- the first FDA-approved non-laser option for surgically treating mild myopia (nearsightedness) -- today announced financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 1999.
Revenues were $4.2 million compared to $239,000 for the same period a year ago and $3.9 million for the second quarter of 1999. Revenues in the quarter were primarily driven by sales of Intacs start-up kits, which include surgical instruments and a small initial inventory of Intacs, and by Intacs reorders. The net loss for the third quarter was $5.0 million, or $0.32 per common share, compared to $5.7 million, or $0.48 per common share, for the third quarter of 1998.
KeraVision said it trained 205 doctors during the quarter, bringing the total number of U.S. ophthalmic surgeons who are credentialed to perform the Intacs procedure to 448. The mix of surgeons completing Intacs training shifted during the quarter to accommodate more doctors belonging to corporate partner groups as well as associates of doctors previously trained. Since Intacs start-up kits already were purchased in these instances, revenues from these "associate" doctors were for training only.
Revenues for the first nine months of 1999 totaled $8.6 million compared to $503,000 for the same period in 1998. The net loss for the first nine months of 1999 was $17.9 million, or $1.34 per common share compared to $16.8 million or $1.57 per common share for the same period a year ago. The per share calculations for the first nine months of 1999 include the effect of a Series B deemed dividend of $1.1 million to preferred stockholders.
KeraVision Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thomas M. Loarie said, "During the quarter, KeraVision continued to see strong surgeon demand for Intacs training and procedure growth in line with our upwardly revised expectations. I am also pleased to announce that the 20/20 visual outcomes being achieved by surgeons who are performing their first-ever Intacs procedures are as high as we saw in U.S. clinical trials." Noting that the first Intacs outcomes data from the commercial launch will be presented next week at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting, Loarie added, "These early commercial results point to the strength of our training and proctoring program."
Loarie said the company is closing the gap between initial certification training and final skills transfer to surgeons by adding skilled specialists and capacity ? additions made possible by the recent secondary financing.
He continued, "We are focusing on the building blocks: training, proctoring, practice integration and marketing. We are continuing to expand our core group of surgical sites by training new independent surgeons and their associates as well as doctors who are part of refractive surgery provider groups. In the fourth quarter, we intend to concentrate on developing several integration models that can be tailored to local market conditions for roll-out next year," Loarie concluded.
During the third quarter, John Galantic was appointed to the new position of KeraVision president and chief operating officer. Galantic, 37, who most recently served as SmithKline Beecham?s Belgium country manager, is credited with the successful European launch of that company?s smoking cessation brand, Niquitin, and for revitalizing the over-the-counter franchise in Belgium with 17 percent annual growth ? the most of any consumer healthcare company in that market.
In addition, Steven M. Henderson, 40, former sales director for Bausch & Lomb?s $50 million-a-year U.S. refractive surgery business and director of training for more than 1,000 LASIK surgeons, has been named to the new post of KeraVision vice president-sales.
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