Nov 8 2007
Millennium Research Group forecasts that the US will rapidly adopt advanced intraocular lenses (IOL), while inflexible reimbursement programs in Europe and Japan will delay the adoption of these vision-enhancing devices. According to Millennium Research Group's global cataract reports, including US Markets for Cataract and Refractive Devices, European Markets for Cataract and Refractive Devices, and Japanese Markets for Cataract and Refractive Devices, the US IOL market will surpass $980 million in 2011, compared to only $458 million in Europe and Japan combined.
The US market for IOLs is expected to grow significantly over the next 5 years, based on the growth of advanced IOL technology. Presbyopic IOLs and IOLs with aspheric optical profiles will grow significantly due to heavy marketing campaigns by Alcon and AMO, the introduction of new lenses, and increased training of physicians to implant such IOLs.
The defining factor between the US IOL market and the rest of the world however is reimbursement. In many European countries every cataract procedure is reimbursed at a fixed amount, therefore premium priced advanced IOLs are only used in out-of-pocket procedures. In contrast, reimbursement in the US is far more generous. IOLs that have been granted New Technology IOL (NTIOL) reimbursement status receive additional Medicare reimbursement of $50 per lens for procedures carried out in ambulatory surgical centers.
Such NTIOL status is achieved by demonstrating clinical advantages and superior design. The future growth of the European advanced IOL market is highly contingent on a price reduction by manufacturers or increased reimbursement. As a result the market for less costly traditional monofocal IOLs (Hydrophobic, hydrophilic, silicone and PMMA) will remain strong in Europe over the next 5 years.
"Advanced IOL technology has had slow adoption in Japan mainly because of low reimbursement rates and a slow approval process," says Cheyne Singh, Analyst at MRG. "Many industry-insiders consider the Japanese medical device regulatory approval process to be costly, time consuming, and a major hindrance in developing the Japanese IOL market."
In 2007, the majority of cataract procedures in Japan were carried out using hydrophobic IOLs, and their usage is forecasted to increase over the next 5 years. The Japanese IOL market will also gain considerable value from the increasing use of premium priced preloaded IOL injector systems.
The US Markets for Cataract and Refractive Devices 2007 report includes coverage of many industry competitors, including Alcon, AMO, Bausch & Lomb, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Eyeonics, Staar Surgical, Moria, IntraLASE, Wavelight, Nidek, Corneal, Rayner, Schwind eye-tech-solutions, Oertli, Lumenis, Hoya Corporation, Quantel, Ellex, A.R.C. Laser, Human Optics, and Santen, among others.