LENSAR® Reports Adoption of ALLY® System in Multi-Center Ophthalmology Groups
Private equity-owned ophthalmology group, EyeSouth Partners, adopts ALLY for each operating room within its Gainesville, Georgia and Boynton Beach, Florida Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs)
Private equity-owned ophthalmology groups account for 14% of the U.S. based ASCs performing cataract surgery 1
ALLY’s robust features and significantly improved surgical efficiencies gain support among private equity groups and physicians
ORLANDO, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–LENSAR, Inc. (Nasdaq: LNSR) (“LENSAR” or “the Company”), a global medical technology company focused on advanced femtosecond laser surgical solutions for the treatment of cataracts, today announced that it has completed the installation of multiple ALLY Systems in five private equity-owned (“PE-owned”) ophthalmology groups, including EyeSouth Partners’ network. EyeSouth Partners is one of the largest PE-owned ophthalmic focused, premier networks in the U.S., with 35 practices, 19 surgery centers, and 290 doctors providing medical and surgical eye care services at over 160 locations. EyeSouth’s stated objective is to enable physicians to focus on patient care, while bringing business expertise and financial and operational efficiencies to individual practices in its network.
The Company sees the adoption of the ALLY System by EyeSouth Partners, and by four other PE-owned ophthalmology groups, as a strong sign of appreciation of this recently launched system. Several PE-owned groups, including EyeSouth Partners, have installed ALLY systems in multiple operating rooms within their practices or have indicated an intention to acquire additional systems, which the Company attributes to ALLY’s procedure speed and operational efficiency.
“Private equity-owned ASCs are increasing their share of the cataract surgical market, now representing 14% of all ASC-based procedures in the U.S. These groups provide an exciting new opportunity for the ALLY System, and we believe that investment in the laser for operating rooms is on the rise among PE-owned ASCs, due to the system’s numerous advantages over legacy cataract treatment technologies. We are proud to partner with these groups and pleased that the rapid adoption of ALLY to date has enabled us to bring the system’s benefits to a broader group of surgeons and patients early in the launch cycle,” said Nick Curtis, CEO, LENSAR.
“The ALLY System has brought new, advanced technology to my cataract surgeries that has helped me to be more accurate, which has resulted in better outcomes. The integrated pre-op data and imaging, along with automated features such as cataract density grading and toric IOL alignment tools, has ensured accurate placement of each lens every time,” according to Matthew B. Kaufman, M.D., Managing Partner of North Georgia Eye Associates, an EyeSouth Practice in Gainesville, GA.
“The efficiency of performing a sterile procedure with the ALLY has been a ‘game changer’ for the patients, surgeons, and staff at EyeSouth. I can wholeheartedly state that the ALLY has been faster and more efficient laser, superior to any other laser on the market that I have used,” said Jack M. Chapman, Jr., M.D., Managing Partner of North Georgia Eye Associates and EyeSouth Physician Advisory Board Co-Chair. “The entire procedure has taken between one and two minutes, resulting in a much-improved patient experience compared to the traditional 8 to 10-minute procedure.”
Private Equity-Owned ASCs with At Least One ALLY Installation:
- US Eye, a network of 20 practices
- Eye Health America, a network of 8 practices
- Vision Innovation Partners, a network of 23 practices
- Eyecare Partners, a network of 46 practices
- EyeSouth Partners, a network of 35 practices
About LENSAR
LENSAR is a commercial-stage medical device company focused on designing, developing, and marketing advanced systems for the treatment of cataracts and the management of visually significant astigmatism as an integral aspect of the cataract procedure. LENSAR has developed its next-generation ALLY® Adaptive Cataract Treatment System, the first platform to integrate proprietary imaging and software, with an extremely fast dual-pulse femtosecond laser in a compact, highly ergonomic system. ALLY is designed to transform cataract surgery by utilizing LENSAR’s advanced technologies with the ability to perform the entire procedure in an operating room or in-office surgical suite, delivering operational efficiencies and reduced overhead. ALLY includes LENSAR’s proprietary Streamline® software technology, designed to guide surgeons to achieve better outcomes.
About EyeSouth Partners
Headquartered in Atlanta, GA, EyeSouth Partners (“EyeSouth”) is an eye care management services organization committed to partnering with leading physicians to build a premier network of eye care services throughout the U.S. EyeSouth’s partner practices’ clinical mission is to provide high quality medical and surgical specialty eye care. EyeSouth supports its affiliated practices and physician partners with strategic guidance, administrative resources, operating expertise, and capital with an absolute focus on clinical quality and a patient-first culture. EyeSouth’s affiliate network consists of over 295 doctors providing medical and surgical eye care services at over 170 locations throughout Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky, Alabama, Illinois, North Carolina, and South Carolina. EyeSouth is backed by Olympus Partners, a Connecticut-based private equity firm. For more information about EyeSouth Partners, please visit: www.eyesouthpartners.com or contact Chris O’Dekirk, Vice President; Head of M&A and Business Development at: chris.odekirk@eyesouthpartners.com.
Dr. Kaufman and Dr. Chapman are compensated to allow surgeons to observe ALLY-performed cataract procedures in their practices and/or are compensated for clinical trials involving ALLY.
1Market Scope Q1 2023 Cataract Quarterly Update, Market Scope LLC
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company’s business strategies, commercialization and production of the ALLY® Adaptive Cataract Treatment System, the expected adoption of ALLY by PE-owned ophthalmology groups, other levels of interest among potential customers and new ALLY System installations, the ALLY System’s performance and market impact, and customer satisfaction with the ALLY System. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “aim,” “anticipate,” “approach,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,” “intend,” “look,” “may,” “mission,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “pursue,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” or the negative thereof and similar words and expressions.
Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations, beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to us. Such statements are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to various important factors, including, but not limited to: our history of operating losses and ability to achieve or sustain profitability; our ability to develop, receive and maintain regulatory clearance or certification of and successfully commercialize the ALLY System and to maintain our LENSAR Laser System; the impact to our business, financial condition, results of operations and our suppliers and distributors as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and global macroeconomic conditions; the willingness of patients to pay the price difference for our products compared to a standard cataract procedure covered by Medicare or other insurance; our ability to grow our U.S. sales and marketing organization or maintain or grow an effective network of international distributors; our future capital needs and our ability to raise additional funds on acceptable terms, or at all; the impact to our business, financial condition and results of operations as a result of a material disruption to the supply or manufacture of our systems or necessary component parts for such system or material inflationary pressures affecting pricing of component parts; our ability to compete against competitors that have longer operating histories, more established products and greater resources than we do; our ability to address the numerous risks associated with marketing, selling and leasing our products in markets outside the United States; the impact to our business, financial condition and results of operations as a result of exposure to the credit risk of our customers; our ability to accurately forecast customer demand and our inventory levels; the impact to our business, financial condition and results of operations if we are unable to secure adequate coverage or reimbursement by government or other third-party payors for procedures using our ALLY System or our other future products, or changes in such coverage or reimbursement; the impact to our business, financial condition and results of operations of product liability suits brought against us; risks related to government regulation applicable to our products and operations; risks related to our intellectual property and other intellectual property matters; and the other important factors that are disclosed under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2023 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), as such factors may be updated from time to time in its other filings with the SEC, each accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at https://ir.lensar.com.
All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by such factors. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing LENSAR’s views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
Contacts
Thomas R. Staab, II, CFO
ir.contact@lensar.com
Lee Roth / Cameron Radinovic
Burns McClellan for LENSAR
lroth@burnsmc.com / cradinovic@burnsmc.com
