Then and NowAlcon Historic Highlights

1970 198019601950

1979 Alcon begins its long-standing partnership with Orbis, three years before Orbis’s first sight-saving flight. Today, Alcon supports Orbis through a combination of the Flying Eye Hospital and the India Childhood Blindness Initiative.

1978 Swiss food company Nestlé acquires Alcon. The acquisition provides capital to accelerate Alcon’s global growth and manufacturing expansion.

1971 With sales of $31 million, Alcon goes public, with a listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

1972 Ed Schollmaier assumes the role of president. During his tenure, sales grow from $36 million to $2 billion, and Alcon becomes the world’s largest ophthalmic company.

1962 The Alcon Trust is established, and continues today through the Alcon Foundation, which supports organizations that advance and improve the quality of eye health, education, and access to care globally.

1964 Alcon establishes its charitable, in-kind donation programs: Medical Missions and U.S. Patient Assistance Programs. Through Medical Missions, Alcon supports eye care professionals and organizations around the world in their work to bring eye care to people in need through philanthropic sight-saving missions. Alcon’s Patient Assistance Programs help preserve the sight of U.S. patients who cannot afford medication or do not qualify for local, state or federal prescription programs.

1969 Alcon’s surgical division is formed with seven associates.

1950 Alcon introduces its first two ophthalmic products: Ophthalzin™ for minor eye infections and Zincfrin® for red, itchy eyes.

1953 While on a sales call in West Texas, Robert Alexander and a local physician develop and patent the DROP-TAINER® eye drop dispensing bottle, now standard for today’s eye care products.

1959 Alcon begins its international operations with the opening of an office in Canada.

1945 Two pharmacists, Robert Alexander and William Conner, open a small pharmacy in Fort Worth, Texas, combining the first syllables of their last names to call it Alcon.

1947 With William Conner as its first president, Alcon Laboratories, Inc. is incorporated. The company begins manufacturing specialty pharmaceutical products. Alexander and Conner fill prescriptions during the day, and at night, prepare sterile, injectable vitamins and oral products using a blender and pressure cooker.

2002 Alcon offers 25% of its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), re-entering the stock market 40 times larger than when it left in 1978.

2003 Alcon launches several flagship products: SYSTANE® eye drops for the treatment of dry eye symptoms, VIGAMOX® ophthalmic solution for bacterial conjunctivitis or “pink eye,” CIPRODEX* otic suspension for middle and outer ear infection, and the AcrySof® Natural IOL, which filters UV and blue light.

2004 Cary Rayment, who joined Alcon in 1989 with the CooperVision acquisition, is appointed Alcon’s fourth president and CEO.

2000 Alcon acquires Summit Autonomous and Grieshaber to enter into the refractive laser market and expand its line of retinal surgery instruments.

2000 Alcon introduces OPTI-FREE® EXPRESS®, solution for cleaning and disinfecting soft contact lenses.

2001 Alcon introduces TRAVATAN® ophthalmic solution for lowering intraocular pressure in patients with glaucoma.

2005 Alcon launches the AcrySof® ReSTOR® IOL, providing a full range of vision and quickly becoming the global leader in multifocal IOLs.

2005 Alcon launches NEVANAC® ophthalmic suspension, a topical, nonsteroidal drug for the treatment of pain and inflammation associated with cataract surgery.

2006 Alcon introduces DUOTRAV® Solution eye drops for the decrease in IOP in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.

2006 Alcon expands its glaucoma and cataract treatment options with TRAVATAN Z® ophthalmic solution for lowering IOP in patients with glaucoma, and AcrySof® Toric IOL for cataract patients with astigmatism

2007 Alcon expands its product portfolio for LASIK surgery through the acquisition of WaveLight AG.

2007 Alcon introduces PATADAY® ophthalmic solution, the first, once daily prescription eye drop for eye allergy itching.

2008 Alcon launches its first nasal product, PATANASE® nasal spray, to treat nasal allergy symptoms, and also expands its AcrySof® line with the introduction of AcrySof® IQ ReSTOR® +3D multifocal IOL.

2008 Alcon introduces the CONSTELLATION® Vision System for vitreoretinal surgery. The computerized machine quickly becomes the gold standard for use during surgical procedures of the anterior and posterior chamber of the eye.

2008 Novartis purchases approximately 25% of Nestlé’s stake in Alcon, becoming its second-largest shareholder. Novartis also retains the option to purchase the remaining 52% of Nestlé’s ownership beginning in 2010.

2008 CIBA Vision launches AIR OPTIX® for Astigmatism, AIR OPTIX® AQUA, and DAILIES® AquaComfort Plus® contact lenses.

2009 Alcon’s leading brand of IOLs, AcrySof®, exceeds 40 million implants.

2009 Kevin Buehler, who joined the Alcon sales force in 1984, is appointed Alcon’s fifth President and CEO. His title changes to Division Head in 2011 following the merger with Novartis.

20001990 2005

1990 Alcon’s Irvine Technology Center, the world’s foremost center for the development of ophthalmic instrumentation, opens in California.

1994 The FDA approves Alcon’s AcrySof® intraocular lens (IOL), representing the first time a material had been developed specifically for an IOL. Today, AcrySof® IOLs are more widely used than any other brand in the world.

1983 Alcon partners with Mercy Ships to work towards a shared goal of eliminating preventable blindness. Today, the partnership spans more than 30 years, and has led to the creation of sustainable programs that meet eye care needs of the thousands of people in West Africa.

1996 CIBA Vision launches FOCUS® DAILIES® one-day disposable contact lenses, entering the daily disposable contact lens market.

1997 Alcon introduces PATANOL® ophthalmic solution, now the leading prescription eye drop for treating allergic conjunctivitis.

1997 Tim Sear, a longtime leader in Alcon’s international expansion, becomes the company’s third President and CEO.

1982 The William C. Conner Research Center is established, helping Alcon to significantly expand its research into treatments for eye diseases and disorders.

1989 Alcon purchases CooperVision Surgical and combines them with its existing operations to become the world’s leading ophthalmic surgical company.

1988 Alcon acquires Sharpoint, Inc., broadening its surgical manufacturing capabilities.

*CIPRODEX is a registered trademark of Bayer Intellectual Property GmbH, licensed to Alcon by Bayer intellectual property GmbH.

2010 20152013 2014

2010 Alcon expands its cataract surgical portfolio with the acquisition of LenSx Lasers, Inc. Today, the LenSx® Laser is the global leader in cataract laser technology.

2011 The boards of Novartis and Alcon complete its merger agreement, giving Novartis 100% ownership of Alcon. The merger unites the strengths of Alcon, CIBA Vision and Novartis Ophthalmics into one eye care business, making Alcon the second-largest division of Novartis. Sales reach $10 billion.

2015 Alcon launches PAZEO® Solution, a prescription eye drop with 24-hour ocular allergy itch relief

2015 Alcon innovates in the cataract intraocular lens (IOL) field by launching the AcrySof® IQ PanOptix® trifocal IOLs and AcrySof® IQ Aspherical IOLs with UltraSert™ Pre-Loaded Deliver System globally

2013 The FDA approves SIMBRINZA® Suspension, the only available fixed-combination, IOP-lowering medication without a beta blocker for patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.

2013 Alcon launches the industry’s most advanced phaco technology platform, the CENTURION® Vision System, designed to provide surgeons with superior cataract removal capabilities by optimizing every moment of the surgical procedure.

2011 Alcon begins the launch of the world’s first and only water gradient daily disposable contact lens, DAILIES TOTAL1®, in select European countries, and also receives regulatory clearance in the U.S.

2012 To further improve patient outcomes in cataract surgery, Alcon acquires the ophthalmic division of SensoMotoric Instruments, providing Alcon with leading ocular surgical guidance technology.

2012 Alcon celebrates its 30-year partnership with Orbis, reaffirming its commitment to restoring sight and eliminating preventable blindness across the globe.

2015 Alcon launches next generation hydrogen peroxide lens care solution, AOSEPT® PLUS with HydraGlyde® Solution and CLEAR CARE® PLUS Cleaning and Disinfecting Solution

2015 The Alcon Experience Center, an eye health education and training center, opens at the Fort Worth, Texas global headquarters

2013 Alcon begins its global introduction of the Cataract Refractive Suite. The Cataract Refractive Suite by Alcon is comprised of multiple innovations and advanced technologies from Alcon’s extensive surgical device portfolio.

2013 Alcon launches ILEVRO® opthalmic suspension, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, for the treatment of pain and inflammation associated with cataract surgery.

2014 Alcon opens a new ophthalmic pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Singapore.

2014 Jeff George is appointed Alcon Division Head. He joins from the Sandoz division, where he served as Global Head of the third largest division for five years.

2014 Alcon introduces AIR OPTIX® COLORS contact lenses, a monthly color-enhancing lens with silicone hydrogel technology available in nine natural-looking colors.

2014 Alcon celebrates the 20th anniversary of the launch of its leading brand of IOLs, AcrySof®, exceeding 75 million implants to date.

2014 Alcon enters into an agreement with Google Life Sciences to license “smart lens” technology.

2014 Alcon acquires WaveTec Vision, the developer of the first commercialized intra-operative aberrometry system for cataract surgery.

Available in 9 colors.

2014 Alcon expands its DAILIES® AquaComfort Plus® family of contact lenses with the introduction of multifocal and toric designs.

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Alcon Laboratories, Inc.

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Fort Worth, Texas 76134

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