It appears that Staar Surgical Co.'s proposed $1.6 billion merger with Alcon AG has been scrapped as Staar shareholders voted against the deal in a stockholder meeting on Jan. 6. In a statement Staar said it intends to terminate its merger agreement with Alcon. No termination fee will be payable by either party, and Staar will remain a stand-alone, publicly traded company.

Alcon AG reported its financial results for the three- and nine-month periods ending Sept. 30, 2025. For the third quarter of 2025, sales were $2.6 billion, up 6% on a reported basis and up 5% on a constant currency basis, as compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

Staar Surgical Co. reported on Oct. 24 that it had adjourned its special meeting of stockholders scheduled in connection with its proposed $1.5 billion sale to Alcon AG in the face of objections from some of its major shareholders and at least three proxy firms.

Interim results from the PRIMAVERA study published in the New England Journal of Medicine demonstrated that Science Corp.'s Prima retinal implant restored vision, enabling 80% of patients to read at 12 months. Participants had age-related macular degeneration-related geographic atrophy resulting in total loss of central vision.

ISS became the third proxy advisory firm to recommend shareholders vote against the proposed sale of Staar Surgical Co. to Alcon AG, joining Glass, Lewis & Co. LLC and Egan-Jones Ratings Co.

You can’t fault Alcon AG’s focus. In the midst of an extended series of acquisitions, the company has a clear vision of creating a deep ophthalmic treatment pipeline – and diagnostics fall outside that line of sight.

Ciliatech SAS received CE certification under the Medical Device Regulation for its Intercil Uveal Spacer, a surgical implant developed to treat glaucoma. The cilio-scleral inter-positioning device lowers intraocular pressure without penetrating the anterior chamber, marking the arrival of a new treatment option for glaucoma patients.

Iantrek Inc. reported the close of a $42 million series C financing round, which it said will facilitate the U.S. commercial launch of its Alloflo Uveo, a bio-interventional ophthalmic surgery solution targeting the lightly used uveoscleral pathway, as well as broader pipeline expansion.

Alcon AG agreed to acquire Staar Surgical Co. in a $1.5 billion cash transaction that would add Staar’s Evo implantable Collamer lenses (ICL) to treat myopia to the vision giant’s portfolio. Alcon will pay $28 per share, a 59% premium on Staar’s 90-day volume-weighted average price and a 51% premium on the Aug. 4 closing price of its shares (Nasdaq: STAA).

Alcon AG plans to acquire Lumithera Inc., adding its photobiomodulation (PBM) device designed to treat early and intermediate dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) to the Alcon portfolio. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The move continues Alcon’s strategic expansion in eye care, following on its recent acquisitions of Aurion Biotech Inc. and Lensar Inc.