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Chairman and CEO Elias Vamvakas.

LVCI Joining TLC to Create LASIK Powerhouse
The Combined Company Will Start with 22% Market Share.

The two laser vision correction companies whose affiliated surgeons perform more than one out of every five LASIK procedures in North America have agreed to merge.

TLC Laser Eye Centers Inc. (TLC) of Mississauga, Ontario, and Laser Vision Centers Inc. (LVCI), based in St. Louis, expect to formally combine as TLC Vision Corporation before the end of this year. TLC's chairman and CEO, Elias Vamvakas, will assume the same role with the new company. John Klobnak, LVCI's chairman and CEO, will serve as a corporate director for a year and then retire.

The proposed merger will bring together the two largest companies in the highly competitive laser vision correction arena with a combined 22% share of the North American LASIK market. The next biggest corporate player, LCA-Vision, has about a 6% share. The merger will include the laser vision correction operations of ClearVision Laser Centers, which LVCI recently acquired, and LVCI's Midwest Surgical Services business, which furnishes independent surgeons with access to cataract surgery equipment and services.

"This is clearly a merger of the strongest players hoping to get stronger," commented Al Kildani, a securities analyst at Pacific Growth Equities. "It's a nice strategic and geographic fit."

Vamvakas said combining the two companies will create money-saving synergies in purchasing, administration and in the ability to provide a wider range of services to both patients and eyecare professionals. He also noted that the two companies are well capitalized, with more than $70 million in cash between them and little debt.

Vamvakas said the combined companies, which will perform about 300,000 refractive procedures this year, will continue to focus on what he called the "premium" market. He said one major goal is to create more opportunities for those refractive surgeons who are currently affiliated with LVCI by providing them with at least some access to TLC's corporate accounts and co-management referrals. 

Bausch & Lomb Seeks New CEO
Carpenter Resigns.

A year-long series of earnings disappointments and lowered expectations culminated in early September when William N. Carpenter resigned as chief executive officer of eyecare giant Bausch & Lomb. The company said its chairman, William H. Waltrip, will serve as chief executive while B&L conducts an external search for a new leader. Waltrip had served as Bausch & Lomb's CEO in 1996.

Company spokesperson Barbara Kelley said Carpenter's resignation was voluntary and for personal reasons. However, he had been coming under increasing fire for the company's poor recent financial performance.

"Many investors have been looking for management changes since the company's woes first surfaced a year ago," said a report issued by the Salomon Smith Barney brokererage firm. "B&L is in the early stages of its restructuring plan. Further restructurings, including the strategic sale of certain businesses, may be in store."

The report said one of the company's major challenges is to find ways to reinvigorate growth. It noted that one hopeful sign is the company's stepped-up investment in its promising Envision TD technology for retinal disease. Several Envision applications, including one for the treatment of diabetic macular edema, are in various stages of development.

Another brokerage firm, Credit Suisse First Boston, said it viewed the management change positively, noting that "a new perspective may lead to better execution of B&L's strategic vision."

IN THE NEWS

Alphagan P available. A new formulation of Allergan's glaucoma medication, brimonidine tartrate ophthalmic solution 0.2% (Alphagan), is now on pharmacy shelves. Brimonidine tartrate ophthalmic solution 0.15% (Alphagan P) has demonstrated comparable efficacy to Alphagan, but with 41% less incidence of ocular allergy.

Presbyobia surgery. PresbyCorp said its new surgical instrument, the PresbyDrive, made a successful debut when it was used recently on three patients in scleral expansion implant surgery to treat prebyobia, Previously, the surgery required a sharp diamond knife to create the four tunnels needed in each eye to place the implants. The PresbyDrive automates the tunnel-creation procedure.

Expanded usage. The FDA has approved the use of verteporfin for injection (Visudyne) therapy for two additional conditions: pathologic myopia, a leading cause of blindness for people between 30 and 50 years of age, and presumed ocular histoplasmosis, another cause of serious vision loss. About 50,000 new cases of pathologic myopia are reported each year worldwide.

New award. Henry A. Grunwald, former editor-in-chief at Time Inc. and author of an inspirational book about his personal battle with age-related macular degeneration, received Lighthouse International's first annual Henry A. Grunwald Award for Public Service. In addition to writing the book Twilight: Losing Sight, Gaining Insight, Grunwald has been active in helping those afflicted with AMD lead more normal lives.

Menicon supplier. Con-Cise Contact Lens Co. is now manufacturing Menicon contact lenses at its plant in San Leandro, Calif. The agreement between the two companies assures a continued supply of Menicon lenses for the U.S. market.

REFRACTIVE SURGERY UPDATE

VISX partnership. VISX Inc., a leading manufacturer of excimer lasers used in laser vision correction, has agreed to assist Medjet Inc. of Edison, N.J., in the further development of that company's liquid microjet technology for performing refractive surgery and other medical procedures. VISX will provide financial support to this development effort and will also have a 1-year option to purchase Medjet.

Medjet has developed a proprietary, patented technology platform and associated devices for use in vision correction. The technology is based on small-diameter, supersonic, liquid microjets that can take the place of lasers or conventional blades for cutting applications.

Consultant. Stephen G. Slade, M.D., the first eye surgeon to perform LASIK in the United States, has entered into a consulting agreement with Bausch & Lomb. Dr. Slade will help the company develop new refractive technology, advance procedural innovation and create training programs for refractive surgeons.

Procedures increase. Laser Vision Centers Inc. said its affiliated surgeons performed 5% more refractive surgery procedures in the latest 3-month reporting period than in the comparable period a year ago.

Comparable outcomes. A California study that compared 722 LASIK procedures performed with fixed-site excimer lasers with 171 done with mobile lasers showed that there was virtually no difference in results and complication rates.

LaserSight losses. LaserSight Inc., a supplier of vision correction technology, reported a loss of $8.7 million for its second quarter. Laser sales were impacted by the delay in the FDA's approval of the company's LaserScan LSX system for treatment of myopia with astigmatism. OM LaserSight expects to receive this approval shortly.