Case 14 STAAR Surgical Company

STAAR designs, develops, manufactures, and markets implantable lenses for eyes with companion delivery systems. These lenses eliminate the reliance on glasses or contact lenses for patients. These lenses are foldable and facilitate surgical placement in the eye through a small incision. The company has been operational in the field of ophthalmic surgery for over 30 years. The company is the exclusive manufacturer of the proprietary EVO Visian® Family of Implantable Collamer® Lenses (EVO ICL) used worldwide to correct refractive errors. The company’s goal is to improve its leadership position in the segment of refractive lenses meant as the primary solution for patients with preference for not using eyeglasses or contact lenses. The company also makes lenses for use in surgery which treats cataracts. The products of STAAR are sold in more than 75 countries. Approximately 96% of total sales of the company in the year 2021 were accounted from outside the United States. The global administrative offices and principal manufacturing facility of STAAR are located in Monrovia, California. The operational and administrative facilities of STAAR are located in the United States, Switzerland, and Japan. The Visian implantable Collamer lens product family, preloaded silicone cataract intraocular lenses, and injector systems are developed in the Monrovia manufacturing facility. The technology center of the company located in Tustin, California houses its Research and Development team. All of the company’s sales are generated from the ophthalmic surgical product segment. Most of the raw materials and components used for the production process are sourced from external suppliers. By December 2021, the company owned approximately 65 United States and foreign patents and had 27 patent applications. The proprietary technology is protected in part through confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements with employees, consultants, and other involved stakeholders. The company focuses on enhancing the technological advancements in the ophthalmic industry through the development of innovative premium ophthalmic products such as lenses, materials, and designs. The company has an active research agenda for the development of presbyopia corrective ophthalmic medical devices and preloaded injector systems. The holding period return for STAAR Surgical was 741% compared to 205% for the Nasdaq Composite and 126% for the peer group companies during the period 2016–2021.