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Alcon

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This article is about the medical company. For the surname, see Alcón. For other uses, see Alcon (disambiguation).
Alcon Inc.
Native name
Alcon AG
Company typePublic (Aktiengesellschaft)
IndustryOphthalmology
Founded1945; 79 years ago (1945) in Fort Worth, Texas, United States
Headquarters
Geneva
,
Switzerland[1]
Key people
David Endicott
(CEO)
Products
RevenueIncrease US$8.3 billion (2021) [2]
Increase US$580 million (2021)[2]
Increase US$376 million (2021)[2]
Total assetsIncrease US$28.0 billion (2021)[2]
Total equityIncrease US$19.2 billion (2021)[2]
Number of employees
24,389 (end 2021)[2]
Websitewww.alcon.com
Alcon offices in Johns Creek, Georgia

Alcon is a Swiss-American pharmaceutical and medical device company specializing in eye care products. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and has a major presence in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, where it employs about 4,500 people.[3]

Alcon was a subsidiary of Novartis until April 2019, when it was spun out into a separate publicly-traded company.[4][5] Alcon itself has a number of subsidiaries including Aerie Pharmaceuticals, focused on therapies for glaucoma and other diseases of the eye, and WaveLight, which develops and manufactures laser eye surgery technologies.[6]

History

Alcon was founded in 1945 as a small pharmacy in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was named for its founders, pharmacists Robert Alexander and William Conner[7] who focused on sterile ophthalmic products.

Nestlé of Switzerland purchased Alcon in 1977.[8] Alcon expanded its manufacturing capability with new plants in South America and Europe and drastically increased its investment in research.

In 1979, Alcon acquired Texas Pharmacal Company which became Dermatological Products of Texas (and is now DPT Laboratories).[9]

In 1984, Alcon founded the Technical Excellence Award to promote achievements in R&D excellence and has awarded it to more than 100 recipients. The Alcon product line has expanded from pharmaceuticals to the surgical arena. Today, Alcon has operations in 75 countries and its products are sold in over 180 countries.

Nestlé conducted an initial public offering of 25% of its stake in Alcon in 2002. The stock is traded under the ticker symbol ALC. In July 2008, Novartis purchased approximately 25% of Nestlé's stake in Alcon, with an option to buy Nestlé's remaining shares beginning in 2010.[10] Novartis bought 52% stake from Nestlé for $28.1 Billion. This deal brought the total ownership of Alcon by Novartis to 77%. Beginning January 2010 Novartis formally announced it will be completing the exercise options for finishing purchasing the rest of Alcon and then promptly continue to exercise merger and takeover of Alcon.[11]

On March 29, 2010, Alcon acquired Durezol and Zyclorin from Sirion Therapeutics. Alcon received regulatory approval to acquire the rights of Durezol emulsion in the US and the global rights, excluding Latin America, for Zyclorin from Sirion Therapeutics.[12]

On June 28, 2010, Alcon's Independent Director Committee announced that a recommendation by the committee was an indispensable first step before the board of the company can decide on the merger proposal of Novartis AG, refuted Novartis’ public implications that it would be able to unilaterally impose the merger irrespective of the Independent Director Committee's position once Novartis became Alcon's majority shareholder. On July 8, 2010, Alcon's independent director committee (IDC) had set up a $50 million litigation trust to ensure company's minority shareholders get the best deal from bidder Novartis AG.[13]

On April 9, 2019, Alcon completed a 100% spin-off from Novartis.[5][14][15] The new standalone company is worth up to 28 billion Swiss francs.[16]

In November 2021, Alcon announced it would acquire Ivantis and their glaucoma surgery stent technology for at least $475 million.[17] In August 2022, Alcon agreed to buy Aerie Pharmaceuticals for US$770 million to enhance its ophthalmic pharmaceutical portfolio.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Contact Us". Alcon. Novartis. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Alcon Inc. 2021 Annual Report (Form 20-F)". SEC.gov. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 2022-02-15.
  3. ^ Bounds, Jeff (2020-01-22). "The (Alcon) Family Tree: How One Company Seeded a DFW Life Science Legacy". Dallas Innovates. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
  4. ^ "Novartis announces intention to seek shareholder approval for 100% spinoff of Alcon eye care devices business". Alcon.
  5. ^ a b Smith, Anna (2019-04-10). "Novartis continues to 'reimagine' itself, as Alcon spin-off completed". PharmaTimes. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  6. ^ "Oberpfälzer Adresse für Augen-Korrektur". www.onetz.de (in German). Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  7. ^ "Improving Vision through Innovation Since 1945".
  8. ^ Nicholson, Chris (4 January 2010). "Novartis to Buy Majority of Alcon From Nestlé". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014.
  9. ^ Taylor, Lisa (28 July 2002). "Permeating a market". San Antonio Business Journal.
  10. ^ "Reuters - Novartis announces offer to buy Nestlé's shares in Alcon". [dead link‍]
  11. ^ "Novartis announces intention to seek shareholder approval for 100% spinoff of Alcon eye care devices business". Scribd.
  12. ^ "Alcon Completes Acquisition of Durezol™ and Zyclorin™ from Sirion". Business Wire. March 29, 2010. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  13. ^ "Alcon (ACL) Sets up trust for litigation between with Novartis to protect minorities". The Chief Executive Forum. Archived from the original on 2010-07-10.
  14. ^ "Alcon tops $28 billion market cap in decade's biggest Swiss stock deal". Reuters. 2019-04-09. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  15. ^ "Novartis completes Alcon spin-off". www.healio.com. April 9, 2019. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  16. ^ Smith, Anna (2019-04-10). "Novartis continues to 'reimagine' itself, as Alcon spin-off completed". PharmaTimes. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  17. ^ "Alcon agrees $475 million deal to buy U.S. eye surgery company Ivantis | Reuters". Reuters. 8 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Alcon buys the American Aerie Pharmaceuticals for 770 million". Swissinfo (in French). 23 August 2022.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alcon.
  • Business data for Alcon:
  • Alcon Official Website
  • Alcon : Novartis exercises option and proposes merger
  • Novartis needs Alcon directors' OK for buyout
  • Swiss Corporate Governance Expert Supports Alcon Independent Director Committee’s Position against Novartis [dead link‍]
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