Bausch & Lomb and Atlantic Pharmaceuticals Sign
Exclusive Worldwide Licensing Agreement for
Breakthrough Cataract Removal Technology
- Companies Aim to Revolutionize the Way Millions of Cataract Surgeries
are Performed
- Technology Could Potentially Shorten Surgical Time and Reduce
Complications
ROCHESTER, N.Y. and RALEIGH, N.C., May 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Bausch & Lomb (NYSE:
BOL - news) has signed a worldwide licensing agreement with Optex Ophthalmologics, Inc., and its
parent company Atlantic Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ATLC - news), to complete the
development of Catarex(TM), a breakthrough cataract-removal technology invented by Optex. The
agreement joins Optex' patented technology with the engineering and marketing expertise of Bausch
& Lomb's surgical business unit, one of the market leaders in the ophthalmic surgery industry.
Under the terms of the multi-year agreement, Bausch & Lomb Surgical (formerly Chiron Vision and
Storz Instrument Company) and Optex will jointly complete the final design and development of the
Catarex system. Bausch & Lomb will assume responsibility for commercializing Catarex globally.
Atlantic Pharmaceuticals will receive up-front and milestone payments from Bausch & Lomb. In
addition, Bausch & Lomb will pay ongoing royalties on sales of Catarex products. Additional terms
of the agreement are not being disclosed.
''We are seizing the opportunity to be the leading provider of innovative products that meet the
needs of the growing ophthalmic surgical market,'' said Hakan Edstrom, president of Bausch &
Lomb Surgical. ''We are delighted that Atlantic Pharmaceuticals has entrusted Bausch & Lomb with
the continued development of its breakthrough technology. Catarex has the potential to revolutionize
the way doctors perform cataract surgeries. Based on pre- clinical studies, Catarex is expected to
make the doctor's work simpler and more efficient, while reducing the patient's risk.''
''We are extremely excited to be partnering with the world's leading eye- care company,'' said J. D.
Lindjord, president and CEO of Atlantic Pharmaceuticals. ''This transaction is significant in that it
generates Atlantic's first revenues and validates our strategy of developing promising early stage
technologies to the point where a larger partner can license the technology and bring it to market.''
A GROWING NEED FOR THE NEW TECHNOLOGY
Cataracts are a natural progressive clouding and hardening of the eye's normally clear crystalline
lens. The clouding and hardening of the lens reduces visual acuity and eventually requires surgical
correction. About two million cataract removals are performed annually in the U. S. Approximately
four million people worldwide are expected to undergo cataract surgery each year.
CATAREX SIMPLIFIES CATARACT REMOVAL
Currently most surgeons remove cataracts by using phacomulsification technology, or ''phaco,'' a
safe and effective technique introduced 25 years ago. However, phaco requires a high degree of
training and skill in order to avoid a few inherent complications which are not anticipated with the
new Catarex technology.
With phaco, a surgeon must maneuver an ultrasonic probe within the lens capsule (the sac containing
the lens) to seek out and break up the hard tissue that constitutes the cataract into fine pieces which
are then gently suctioned out of the eye. The ultrasonic probe can occasionally generate heat which
can damage tissue around the incision, while the movement of the probe, or the sculpting of the lens,
in the confined space can damage the lens capsule if the probe inadvertently comes into contact with
it. While such complications are rare, surgeons welcome alternative approaches that would further
reduce their occurrence.
The Catarex method is a one-step process with a probe that can be held relatively motionless at the
entrance to the lens capsule as the lens tissue is drawn to it. The Catarex probe is a rotary device
that operates at speeds of 30,000 to 70,000 revolutions per minute, creating a vortex which draws
the cataract material to the probe and then mechanically liquefies it. The stationary positioning of the
probe is expected to reduce the risk of damage to the lens capsule. Also, clinical studies are
expected to show that the Catarex probe generates very little heat, thereby substantially reducing the
risk of tissue damage from burns.
AN EVEN FASTER PROCEDURE
Catarex could also reduce the time for removal of the cataract, which would increase the efficiency
and safety of the procedure. A typical phaco procedure takes 4 to 12 minutes to complete, while the
Catarex device has the potential to remove a cataract in just 1 to 3 minutes.
NEW LENSES AN EVENTUAL POSSIBILITY
The Catarex system could pave the way for the future development of novel intraocular lenses,
possibly even ''accommodating'' lenses which mimic the refractive capabilities of the eye's natural
lens. The small incision size required for the Catarex procedure and the greater likelihood of the
procedure allowing the lens capsule to remain intact are the two factors that could facilitate the future
development of accommodating intraocular lenses. Although such lenses are not expected on the
market in the near term, the agreement between Bausch & Lomb and Atlantic provides for
additional royalties to Atlantic if the market moves in this direction in the coming years.
PATIENTS AND SURGEONS WILL BENEFIT
''Surgeons have long sought a balance in techniques that allows a safe operation which yields
excellent refractive outcomes,'' said Edstrom. ''Catarex is designed to answer the surgeons' needs. It
should afford safe, consistent patient outcomes in the hands of a wide range of ophthalmic surgeons.''
Development of the Catarex system is currently in the final prototyping phase. Clinical trials are
expected to begin mid-year 1999.
Bausch & Lomb Incorporated is a global eye-care company dedicated to helping consumers see,
look and feel better through innovative technology and design. Its core businesses include soft and
rigid gas permeable contact lenses, lens care products, premium sunglasses, ophthalmic surgical and
pharmaceutical products. The company is advantaged with some of the most respected brands in the
world starting with its name, Bausch & Lomb(R), and including Ray-Ban(R), Arnette(TM),
SofLens66(TM), Boston(R), Killer Loop(R), ReNu(R), Revo and Storz(R). Founded in 1853 in
Rochester, N.Y., where it continues to have its headquarters, the company has annual revenues of
approximately $2.5 billion and employs more than 15,000 people in 35 countries. Bausch & Lomb
products are available in more than 100 countries around the world.
Based in Raleigh, N.C., Atlantic Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company developing
pharmaceutical and biomedical products for a variety of therapeutic areas. The company's strategy,
which differentiates its approach from many biotechnology firms, is to develop a diverse portfolio of
promising and independent product candidates licensed from a variety of sources. Currently, Atlantic
is developing novel technologies in cataract removal, antisense gene therapy, prevention of restenosis
following coronary angioplasty, and anti-inflammatory/analgesic drugs.
Bausch & Lomb Safe Harbor Statement:
This press release contains, among other things, certain statements of a forward-looking nature
relating to future events or the future business performance of Bausch & Lomb. Such statements
involve a number of risks and uncertainties including those concerning economic conditions,
regulatory processes, product development and introduction, the financial well-being of key
customers, the successful execution of marketing strategies, the continued successful implementation
of the restructuring effort in reducing costs and expenses of manufacturing processes and
administrative functions, as well as the risk factors listed from time to time in the company's SEC
filings, including but not limited to the Report on Form 10-Q for the first quarter of 1998.
Atlantic Pharmaceuticals Safe Harbor Statement:
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that relate to future scientific, business
and financial performance. Such statements can only be predictions and are subject to a number of
factors and uncertainties, which may cause the actual events or future results to differ from those
discussed herein. Such factors include those risks described in the company's most recent reports on
Forms 10-QSB and 10-KSB previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The
company assumes no obligation to update the information in this release.
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