STAAR Surgical Ships New Three-Piece Cataract Lens And Injector System

MONROVIA, Calif., June 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- STAAR Surgical Company , a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of minimally invasive ophthalmic products, today announced it has begun shipping its newly redesigned Three-Piece Collamer(R) lens, model CQ2015 along with the ONYX, a new injection system.

The redesigned Three-Piece Collamer lens is a foldable, intraocular lens (IOL) used to restore vision following cataract surgery, which requires the removal of the natural lens of the eye. The new design includes polyimide loops, allowing the lens to "self-center," and it incorporates a "continuous contact edge," reducing the potential for posterior capsule opacification, a cloudiness in the remaining lens membrane. The lens is made of STAAR's patented Collamer, a highly biocompatible material with properties that greatly reduce glare and other optical aberrations. The lens is paired with the ONYX injector and cartridge, making the system highly predictable and easier to use, and which the Company expects to increase surgeons' acceptance of the redesigned lens.

"Now that we have begun shipping our new lens and injection system, we believe that we are positioned to begin rebuilding our domestic cataract business," said David Bailey, President and CEO of STAAR Surgical. "Our new lens and injection system eliminate the previous lens model's tendency to fold over, which made placement of the lens challenging. Based upon our market research, we believe many surgeons will welcome our new lens configuration and their desire to learn more about how their patients benefit from our patented Collamer material will encourage them to try our new system. The patented Collamer material is almost identical to the eye's natural crystalline lens in its ability to refract light, and this characteristic contributes to high quality visual outcomes. We are excited about the opportunity these new products create and believe that sales of this new system will begin to have meaningful impact on our domestic business in the fourth quarter of this year."

About STAAR Surgical

STAAR Surgical is a leader in the development, manufacture and marketing of minimally invasive ophthalmic products employing proprietary technologies. STAAR's products are used by ophthalmic surgeons and include the revolutionary VISIAN ICL(TM) as well as innovative products designed to improve patient outcomes for cataracts and glaucoma. STAAR's ICL has received CE Marking, is approved for sale in approximately 40 countries and has been implanted in more than 40,000 eyes worldwide. It is currently under review by the FDA, but not yet approved, for use in the United States.

Safe Harbor

All statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including any projections of sales, earnings, revenue, cash or other financial items, any statements of the plans, strategies, and objectives of management for future operations, any statements of expectations regarding the potential market for our products, any statements concerning proposed new products and government approval of new products, services or developments, any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance, statements of belief and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. These statements are based on expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties include our ability to gain market acceptance of our redesigned three-piece Collamer IOL and insertion system and win customers from more established lens designs, our ability to implement our cost savings strategies and realize our expected savings, our limited capital resources, the success of our efforts in realigning our management team, the results of our response to FDA observations, our ability to reverse the decline in domestic sales of IOLs, our ability to maintain or enhance our existing product sales and gross profit margin and reduce compliance expenditures, the need to obtain regulatory approval for new products, acceptance of new products by medical practitioners and consumers, the rapid pace of technological change in the ophthalmic industry, our ability to compete with much larger ophthalmic companies, general domestic and international economic conditions, access to financing and other factors beyond the control of STAAR Surgical Company, including those detailed from time to time in STAAR Surgical Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. STAAR Surgical Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or actual outcomes and does not intend to do so.

CONTACT: Investors EVC Group Douglas Sherk, 415-896-6820 Jennifer Beugelmans, 415-896-6820 Media EVC Group Steve DiMattia, 917-620-0590

CONTACT: Investors, Douglas Sherk, +1-415-896-6820, or JenniferBeugelmans, +1-415-896-6820, both of EVC Group, for STAAR Surgical; ormedia, Steve DiMattia of EVC Group, +1-917-620-0590, for STAAR Surgical

Web site: http://www.staar.com/