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AMO to launch new ophthalmic products in India

Our Bureau, MumbaiThursday, September 1, 2005, 08:00 Hrs  [IST]

Advanced Medical Optics India Pvt. Ltd., the Indian arm of the US-based global ophthalmic medical device leader, Advanced Medical Optics Inc. (AMO), is expanding its market presence in India by launching new products and by setting up an extensive marketing and sales network. Advanced Medical Optics India Pvt. Ltd., which took off a few weeks ago, will directly market AMO products in India. The company will soon launch Tecnis multifocal and Tecnis Acrylic intraocular lenses (IOLs), VISX STAR S4 IR laser vision correction system, Complete MoisturePlus contact lens care solution, and Complete Aquavision and blink branded products in the Indian market. So far AMO products were marketed in India through Allergan, which was dissociated from AMO in the recent past. AMO is planning an investment of over US$10 million in India, mainly to set up direct sales and marketing teams, education programs for ophthalmologists and eye care specialists, with product launches in India. The current immediate plan of AMO is to expand its sales and marketing strength in India. AMO India plans to focus on a direct sales model and is investing heavily in the recruitment and training of the Indian team, besides offering training to their customers. “There are plans to further increase AMO’s presence into the Indian market and more investments are expected in the coming months especially with the launch of new products such as multifocal lenses which give more independence from spectacles and expansion of the Tecnis IOL family. The Tecnis IOL is the only IOL to ever have been granted a claim by the FDA related to safer driving,” informed James Francese, Vice President, Laser Vision Correction group, AMO. He clarified the present investment is unrelated to the AMO’s Bangalore facility, acquired from Pfizer India as part of AMO’s acquisition of Pfizer’s ophthalmic division including manufacturing and R&D facilities in July, last year. Some of the products acquired in this transaction, such as Healon viscoelastic and Tecnis IOL, are growing in India and providing new medical treatment options to Indian patients and surgeons. The Bangalore plant currently manufactures only implants for the Indian market. With advances in the field of ophthalmology, there is a shift to micro-incision surgery and the company expects strong adoption of new technologies by surgeons in India and to see rapid double-digit growth in related sectors, said James Francese.

 
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