Abbott acquires optical device company Visiogen for $400 million

CHICAGO, Illinois — Abbott Labs on Wednesday announced it had acquired its second optical company this year, purchasing cataract business Visiogen for $400 million.

The company moved into the optical device market in February when it closed on a deal worth $2.8 billion that acquired Advanced Medical Optics, which made devices for cataract and LASIK surgery, as well as contact lens and eye solutions. Visiogen, meanwhile, has developed an intraocular lens that’s implanted in a patient’s eye after the original is removed due to cataract problems.

Visogen, based in California, received approval earlier this year to distribute its lens, called Synchrony, in Europe. Its currently under consideration by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for distribution here.

Intraocular lenses don’t address presbyopia, blurry vision close-up that affects 1 billion people over the age of 40 worldwide. Visiogen thinks its product can help address presbyopia.

John M. Capek, Abbotts’ executive vice president for medical devices, stated that the acquisition shows the company’s commitment to vision care. “Combining Visiogen’s accommodating lens technology with Abbott’s existing medical optics portfolio expands our ability to offer a diverse set of refractive options to our ophthalmic customers and the patients they serve,” Capek stated in a press release.

The deal should close in the fourth-quarter of 2009 pending regulatory approval.