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Strategies & Market Trends : Gorilla and King Portfolio Candidates
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To: StockHawk who wrote (8962)10/27/1999 1:26:00 AM
From: RoseCampion  Read Replies (1) of 54805
 
Regarding VISX and its GG status -

I posted the following analysis/op-ed piece to the Qualcomm thread back in mid-August (it really belonged here, but someone asked the question there...). I don't think anything substantial has changed in the vision marketplace since then (though I will be the first to admit that Kera and other non-laser vision correction procedures haven't exactly taken anyone or anything by storm yet) -

Summary: I didn't see any simian genes here (especially if you look at the bigger picture outside the US), and potentially even the royalty status is severely in doubt:

Message 11008130

Bausch & Lomb is expected to introduce their own laser soon, and their is some speculation that they may use their clout to try and get a reduction of the $250 royalty fee. There is even the remote possibility that they may try a Nidek-like move of simply not paying the royalty but that seems unlikely.

Um, StockHawk, correct me if I'm wrong, but Bausch&Lomb's lasers come courtesy of their acquisition of Chiron last year, whose equipment (1) has extremely good market share (more than VISX's, IIRC) outside the US, (2) is widely respected (many consider it more advanced and safer than VISX's or Summit's; I know when I was researching having LASIK done about a year ago everyone seemed to think that trusting your eyes to a VISX over a Chiron Technolas 216 was "visual suicide"), and (3) never required payment to VISX any kind of royalties. So if B&L/Chiron comes out with a 'new' laser for the US market and/or doesn't pay VISX its $250/eye toll, I don't see that they'll be doing anything that their acquired subsidiary hadn't already done for a long time before.

-Rose-
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