Alcon completes acquisition of Israeli co Belkin Vision

Israeli Ophthalmology Investment Company Share Price Biolite Life Sciences (TASE:BOLT) rose 2% today after the Israeli glaucoma treatment company announced Belkin VisionGE Healthcare, in which it owns a 4% stake, announced that it has completed its sale to Swiss-American ophthalmology company Alcon (SWX: ALC).

Biolight announced the deal last May, and since then its share price has risen by 40%, and its market value currently stands at 22 million shekels.

Alcon is acquiring Belkin Vision, which has developed a laser-based technology to treat glaucoma, for up to $466 million, including an immediate payment of $81 million and an additional $385 million in milestone payments based on the product’s success in the market.

Biolight will receive NIS 8.9 million in cash immediately and payments of up to $10.8 million if Belkin Vision achieves all of its milestones — in other words, an amount significantly higher than Biolight’s total value. Prior to the announcement of the Belkin Vision acquisition, Biolight had valued its stake at just NIS 3.6 million.

US Marketing Approval

Last December, Belkin Vision received FDA approval to market its laser-based device for treating glaucoma. The company was founded in 2013 as Belkin Laser to develop a more effective and convenient non-contact laser treatment for glaucoma. In February 2024, Belkin Vision raised $12.3 million, bringing the company’s total raised to $40 million. The company also received a $17.5 million grant from the European Union.

The company was founded by ophthalmologist Prof. Michael Belkin as part of the ARC project at Sheba Medical Center, in collaboration with CEO Daria Lehman Blumenthal.

Alcon is expected to market Belkin Vision as a first-line treatment for glaucoma. Alcon is a global leader in ophthalmology, and in the glaucoma field it markets eye care products and implants, and now it will also add a laser product. The product has been approved for marketing in Europe and the United States, but has not yet been marketed in the United States.

This article was published in Globes, Israeli Business News – en.globes.co.il – on July 3, 2024.

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