11460 Johns Creek Pkwy, Johns Creek, GA Nov 2017

Alcon is an American Swiss medical company specializing in eye care products with headquarters in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and incorporated in Fribourg, Switzerland. Alcon began as a US company and its US subsidiary’s headquarters remain in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the List of cities in Texas by population, fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the List of United States cities by population, 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, T ...

, where the Alcon division of the company was founded. Alcon was a subsidiary of

Novartis Novartis AG is a Swiss-American multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland and Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States (global research).name="novartis.com">https://www.novartis.com/research-development/research-lo ...

until April 9, 2019, when the company completed a shareholder approved 100% spinoff of Alcon eye care devices business from Novartis.

History

The US division of Alcon was founded as an independent company in 1945 in

, USA. Since the current Swiss company that grew from multiple mergers retained the Alcon name, it is important to differentiate the former US company (now a subsidiary) from the much larger company that bears the same Alcon name. Alcon has not existed as a US-based company since 1977. The original US company Alcon started as a small pharmacy in Fort Worth and was named for its founders,

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

s Robert Alexander and William Conner. Conner and Alexander focused on

sterile Sterile or sterility may refer to: *Asepsis Asepsis is the state of being free from disease-causing micro-organisms (such as pathogenic bacteria, viruses, pathogenic fungi, and parasites). There are two categories of asepsis: medical and surgi ...

ophthalmic products.

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...

purchased Alcon in 1977. Alcon expanded its manufacturing capability with new plants in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and drastically increased its investment in research. In 1979, Alcon acquired Texas Pharmacal Company which became Dermatological Products of Texas (and is now DPT Laboratories). In 1984, Alcon founded the Technical Excellence Award to promote achievements in R&D excellence and has awarded it to more than 100 recipients. The Alcon product line has expanded from pharmaceuticals to the surgical arena. Today, Alcon has operations in 75 countries and its products are sold in over 180 countries.

conducted an initial public offering of 25% of its stake in Alcon in 2002. The stock is traded under the ticker symbol ALC. In July 2008, Novartis purchased approximately 25% of Nestlé's stake in Alcon, with an option to buy Nestlé's remaining shares beginning in 2010. Novartis bought 52% stake from Nestlé for $28.1 Billion. This deal brought the total ownership of Alcon by Novartis to 77%. Beginning January 2010 Novartis formally announced it will be completing the exercise options for finishing purchasing the rest of Alcon and then promptly continue to exercise merger and takeover of Alcon. On March 29, 2010, Alcon acquired

Durezol Difluprednate is a corticosteroid, It is chemically a butyrate ester of 6(alpha),9(alpha)-difluoro prednisolone acetate. Accordingly, difluprednate is sometimes abbreviated DFBA, for difluoroprednisolone butyrate acetate. Approval On June 24, 20 ...

and Zyclorin from Sirion Therapeutics. Alcon received regulatory approval to acquire the rights of Durezol emulsion in the US and the global rights, excluding Latin America, for Zyclorin from Sirion Therapeutics. On June 28, 2010, Alcon's Independent Director Committee announced that a recommendation by the committee was an indispensable first step before the board of the company can decide on the merger proposal of Novartis AG, refuted Novartis’ public implications that it would be able to unilaterally impose the merger irrespective of the Independent Director Committee's position once Novartis became Alcon's majority shareholder. On July 8, 2010, Alcon's independent director committee (IDC) had set up a $50 million litigation trust to ensure company's minority shareholders get the best deal from bidder Novartis AG. On April 9, 2019, Alcon completed a 100% spin-off from Novartis. The new standalone company is worth up to 28 billion Swiss francs. In November 2021, Alcon announced it would acquire Ivantis and their

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that result in damage to the optic nerve (or retina) and cause vision loss. The most common type is open-angle (wide angle, chronic simple) glaucoma, in which the drainage angle for aqueous humor, fluid withi ...

surgery stent technology for at least $475 million. In August 2022, Alcon agreed to buy

Aerie Pharmaceuticals Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for the treatment of patients with glaucoma and other diseases of the eye. Aerie's two lead product candi ...

for US$770million to enhance its ophthalmic pharmaceutical portfolio.

References

External links

*
Alcon Official WebsiteAlcon : Novartis exercises option and proposes mergerNovartis needs Alcon directors' OK for buyoutSwiss Corporate Governance Expert Supports Alcon Independent Director Committee’s Position against Novartis
{{Authority control Pharmaceutical companies established in 1945 Companies based in Fort Worth, Texas Pharmaceutical companies of Switzerland Multinational companies Contact lenses Pharmaceutical companies of the United States Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Companies listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange Life sciences industry Health care companies based in Texas Eyewear companies of the United States Novartis 2010 mergers and acquisitions 2002 initial public offerings