Alcon to Acquire LumiThera, Advancing Treatment Options for Dry AMD

Alcon announced its intent to acquire LumiThera, Inc., a U.S.-based company pioneering light-based therapies for eye diseases, in a move aimed at expanding treatment options for early and intermediate dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

LumiThera’s Photobiomodulation (PBM) device is the first of its kind to demonstrate meaningful visual improvement in patients with early to intermediate dry AMD, a progressive, sight-threatening disease that until recently had no widely available therapies in its earlier stages. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025, pending shareholder approval and customary closing conditions.

“For more than 25 years, Alcon has been a leader in vitreoretinal surgery, and we are excited to expand our offerings into the clinic, to help millions of people living with dry AMD gain vision,” said Sean Clark, Vice President and General Manager, Global Surgical Franchise, Alcon. “Dry AMD is an area of significant unmet need, and PBM is an efficacious, non-invasive light therapy that can provide visual improvement for patients with early and intermediate disease. With Alcon’s global commercial and clinical expertise, we have the potential to make this therapy more broadly available to Eye Care Professionals and their patients, while continuing to strengthen its body of clinical evidence.”

Dry AMD is characterised by the gradual degeneration of retinal cells in the macula, leading to central vision loss. As the disease progresses, it severely impairs daily activities like reading, driving, and facial recognition. LumiThera’s PBM therapy leverages low-level, non-phototoxic light to stimulate mitochondrial function and support retinal health, offering a non-invasive option administered in a clinic setting.

Backed by robust clinical evidence from the LIGHTSITE I, II, and III trials, PBM therapy has shown consistent benefits in visual acuity. The pivotal LIGHTSITE III study, conducted across 10 U.S. sites, found that:

• Patients gained an average of one line of visual acuity from baseline at 13, 21, and 24 months
• 88% of treated patients maintained or improved vision at 24 months
• 64% of patients gained at least one line of visual acuity at 24 months
• Over 97% of patients reported no pain or discomfort
• More than 80% completed the full two-year treatment protocol

“At LumiThera, we have been committed to developing novel light therapy technologies that address dry AMD,” said Clark Tedford, Ph.D., President and CEO of LumiThera. “Our PBM device provides a non-invasive treatment for dry AMD patients that can improve vision and address the disease earlier, before permanent vision loss. We are thrilled that Alcon agrees in the potential that this device has to change the lives of millions living with dry AMD, and we are confident that Alcon has the capabilities to broadly commercialize it.”

PBM received FDA de novo market authorization in November 2024 and CE Mark approval in 2018. The device is already commercially available in the U.S., Europe, Latin America, Singapore, and the U.K.

As part of the deal, Alcon will acquire LumiThera’s PBM business only. LumiThera’s diagnostic devices, AdaptDx and Nova/Diopsys, will be spun off into a separate company prior to the transaction and will continue to operate independently.