Recently, Alcon, a global leader in ophthalmic healthcare, announced its innovative product, the Direct Selective Laser Trabectomy (DSLT) device - Voyager ™ DSLT has been approved by the FDA and will be fully launched in the United States.

According to Alcon, this innovative product is the world's first and currently the only direct selective laser trabeculoplasty device, which is expected to promote laser therapy as a first-line treatment for glaucoma and benefit more patients.

Glaucoma potential device heavily approved
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases characterized by progressive damage to the optic nerve, and one of its important factors is the relative increase in intraocular pressure (IOP), which is an irreversible cause of blindness. As the primary cause of irreversible blindness, many patients do not realize their condition until their vision is lost, so early intervention (from medication to surgery) is crucial for protecting vision.

At present, international authoritative institutions such as the American Academy of Ophthalmology have listed SLT as an effective first-line therapy, but traditional SLT procedures are time-consuming and require professional training, which limits their popularity. According to statistics, the global glaucoma treatment market is expected to reach $5.7 billion by 2024 and $8 billion by 2032. With the further growth of the glaucoma market, the popularization and application of early intervention technologies for glaucoma are urgently needed.

Regarding this, Dr. Terry Kim, Chief Medical Officer of Alcon, stated: "Alcon is committed to developing treatment methods and technologies for glaucoma patients, Voyager ™ The launch of DSLT will expand the accessibility of first-line SLT therapy and assist ophthalmologists in providing critical early interventions for patients.

Voyager approved this time ™ DSLT， Its predecessor was Eagle developed by Belkin Vision ™ Glaucoma laser therapy device, in July 2024, Alcon completed the acquisition of BELKIN Vision for a total price of approximately $460 million, acquiring the glaucoma potential device.

It is understood that the device adopts an intuitive touch screen control system, which eliminates the complex operation of traditional slit lamps and manual anterior chamber angle mirrors, significantly reducing the professional technical threshold required for manual SLT. Laser energy can be directly transmitted to the trabecular meshwork tissue through the edge of the cornea without direct contact with the patient's body.

The device can also use SureTrac eye tracking technology to ensure that laser pulses can be accurately transmitted through the corneal edge to the trabecular meshwork, effectively stimulating the natural repair mechanism of the eye and promoting aqueous humor outflow; Users only need simple operations to enable SureTrac ™ The 120 types of lasers held by the holder are directly transmitted to the trabecular meshwork, significantly improving treatment efficiency.

And, the device has achieved full automation, automatically determining the target location for treatment, efficiently providing 120 laser pulses, accurately and safely delivering laser pulses to the trabecular meshwork structure, stimulating the natural healing response of the eye, improving aqueous humor outflow, and thereby reducing intraocular pressure.

Based on excellent product features, its clinical data and early feedback are also considerable: 62% of DSLT participants do not require practical medication after 12 months; 92.5% of DSLT patients are willing to recommend this therapy to friends and family with glaucoma; It is expected to become a more popular first-line intervention for glaucoma.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that according to Alcon, the device will be officially unveiled at the annual meeting of the American Glaucoma Society from February 26 to March 2, providing a new first-line laser treatment option for nearly 5 million American patients diagnosed with glaucoma.

Focusing on the ophthalmology market
Established in 1947, Alcon is a leading brand in the global field of ophthalmic medical devices and has always held a leading position in the global eye health industry. At present, Alcon provides a wide range of surgical products, contact lenses and contact lens care solutions, and dry eye medicines, benefiting millions of patients and consumers in over 140 countries. In 1990, the Alcon brand entered China and established a Chinese company in 1995, dedicated to providing better solutions for domestic ophthalmologists, patients, and consumers.

In the past 2024, Alcon also received approval for a potential cataract product: in July, its Unity Vitreous Retinal Cataract System (VCS) and Unity Cataract System (CS) were approved by the US FDA 510 (k).
It is reported that the above two systems have higher work efficiency than Alcon's current visual system. Unity VCS is used for anterior and posterior ophthalmic surgeries and is equipped with optional lasers for photocoagulation (i.e. vitreoretinal and macular lesions), iridectomy, and trabeculoplasty. The Unity CS console is used in conjunction with compatible devices for anterior ophthalmic surgeries such as phacoemulsification and cataract extraction.

Both products also have multiple advantages: positive design is conducive to creating an environment close to physiological conditions during the surgical process; Integrating cataract phacoemulsification, vitrectomy and other functions to reduce the operating room footprint and the need for other equipment; Using Unity 4D cataract phacoemulsification technology, the speed is doubled while energy consumption is reduced by 40%; The Hypervit 30k technology has increased the cutting speed of vitreous bodies by 1.5 times.

In addition, on November 12, 2024, Alcon released its Q3 2024 financial report, which showed that its development in 2024 was also relatively stable, with a total net sales of $2.4 billion in the third quarter, an increase of 6% from the $2.3 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

In terms of different fields, the net sales of implants, consumables, and equipment/other surgical procedures in its surgical business were 1.34 billion US dollars, an increase of 5% from 1.28 billion US dollars in the third quarter of 2023; In the vision care business, the net sales of contact lenses and eye health totaled $1.1 billion, an increase of 7% from $1 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

At the 2025 JPM conference, David Endicott, CEO of Alcon, also outlined the company's future development direction: at the strategic level, Alcon will focus on ophthalmic care, creating value through attracting and retaining experts, increasing research and development investment, expanding global commercialization, and data-driven approaches.

Conclusion
With the Aircon Voyager ™ The DSLT product has been approved and is expected to provide a new first-line laser treatment solution for glaucoma patients. And currently, Voyager DSLT has been launched in some markets of the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States, further enriching Alcon's glaucoma product line (including Hydrus) ® Micro bracket EX-PRESS ® Drainage device and medication eye drops.

Source: https://news.yaozh.com/archive/45050.html