Glaukos Corp (NYSE: GKOS)
Shares of Glaukos Corporation shot up 34% to $60.60 on Wednesday after Alcon removed its Micro-Stent from the market over safety concerns. CyPass Micro-Stent is used to reduce eye pressure during cataract surgery in glaucoma patients.
The company said the stent was ineffective and can damage the eye. Alcon is a subsidiary of Novartis International AG, which is a competitor of Glaukos Corporation.
“We believe that withdrawing the CyPass Micro-Stent from the market is in patients’ best interest and is the right thing to do.
Although we are removing the product from the market now out of an abundance of caution, we intend to partner with the FDA and other regulators to explore labeling changes that would support the reintroduction of the CyPass Micro-Stent in the future,” said Stephen Lane, the chief executive officer of Alcon.
The CyPass Micro-Stent had received approval from the FDA two years ago to reduce pressure in the eyes of glaucoma patients during surgery.
But, Alcon later found that patients who used the stent during surgery experienced drastic loss of endothelial cells, which are important in maintaining visual function.
Novartis has come out to assure investors that the move is not going to have a significant effect on its business operations, regardless.
The withdrawal of the stent from the market now leaves more than enough room for Glaukos to make huge profits by selling more of its iStents, which are also designed to serve the same purpose.
Glaukos Corporation Company Profile
Glaukos Corporation is an ophthalmic medical technology and pharmaceutical company that focuses on the development and commercialization of surgical devices and sustained pharmaceutical therapies designed to treat glaucoma.
It offers iStent, a micro-bypass stent for insertion in conjunction with cataract surgery for the reduction of intraocular pressure in adult patients with mild-to-moderate open-angle glaucoma.
The company’s product pipeline includes iStent Inject trabecular micro-bypass stent that allows the surgeon to inject stents into various trabecular meshwork locations through a single corneal entry; iStent Supra suprachoroidal micro-bypass stent, which is designed to reduce intraocular pressure by accessing the suprachoroidal space in the eye; and iDose, a targeted injectable drug delivery implant that is designed to be pre-loaded into a small gauge needle and injected into the eye through a self-sealing corneal needle penetration.
Its product pipeline also consists of iStent SA trabecular micro-bypass system, a two-stent product that is slightly wider than the iStent Inject and uses a different auto-injection inserter designed for use in a standalone procedure; and iStent Infinite trabecular micro-bypass system, which is used as a standalone procedure in patients with refractory glaucoma.
The company markets its products through direct sales force in the United States and internationally, as well as through distribution partners in Europe, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, and internationally.
Glaukos Corporation has a collaboration agreement with D. Western Therapeutics Institute for the development of novel intraocular products for the treatment of glaucoma. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in San Clemente, California. –YahooFinance
