Alcon has inked a deal to acquire LumiThera and its light-based therapy for dry age-related macular degeneration, which obtained a groundbreaking FDA clearance late last year.
The Valeda system employs photobiomodulation—or PBM, the use of different wavelengths of low-level light—to help stimulate mitochondrial activity in the cells of the retina. Last November the FDA described the device as the first U.S. therapeutic option for adults with dry AMD, and capable of improving a patient’s vision by about one line on a standard eye chart after two years of in-office treatments.
Dry AMD is a progressive disease that has no cure, and ranks as a leading cause of blindness worldwide while affecting nearly 200 million people, according to Alcon’s estimates.
“Dry AMD is an area of significant unmet need, and PBM is an efficacious, non-invasive light therapy that can provide visual improvement for patients with early and intermediate disease,” Sean Clark, VP and general manager of Alcon’s global surgical franchise, said in a statement.
“With Alcon’s global commercial and clinical expertise, we have the potential to make this therapy more broadly available to eye care professionals and their patients, while continuing to strengthen its body of clinical evidence,” Clark added.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction will not include LumiThera’s AdaptDx and Diopsys Nova vision testing and diagnostic devices, according to the companies—they’re set to be spun-off through a new business under LumiThera’s shareholders in the coming months, before the acquisition’s goal date set for the end of September.
“Our PBM device provides a non-invasive treatment for dry AMD patients that can improve vision and address the disease earlier, before permanent vision loss. We are thrilled that Alcon agrees in the potential that this device has to change the lives of millions living with dry AMD, and we are confident that Alcon has the capabilities to broadly commercialize it,” said LumiThera President and CEO Clark Tedford.
In May, the company published top-line results from an extended, open-label trial of Valeda, which followed patients that had completed its two-year pivotal study for an additional two-and-a-half years.
The trial included a 20-month gap between treatment periods. According to the company, patients still maintained some vision benefits from the earlier study, and recovered vision once more after undergoing 13 months of retreatment.
LumiThera’s approach previously received CE Mark approval in Europe in 2018, and the system is also available in Latin America, Singapore and the U.K.
Alcon’s acquisition follows two recent deals for laser-based surgery systems—including a $466 million offer for Belkin Vision's automated glaucoma therapy in July 2024, and more recently $356 million for Lensar’s Ally robotic cataract platform. The latter transaction, announced this past March, has not yet closed, with a goal set for mid-to-late 2025.