Thank you to everyone who has contributed to making this company a global leader in eye care.
Thank you to everyone who has worked tirelessly to help us fulfill our vision. Thank you to the partners
and practitioners who connect us with patients and have been our partners in reimagining eye care.
2000 Alcon acquires Summit
2005 Alcon launches the
AcrySof® ReSTOR® IOL quickly
becoming a global leader in
multifocal IOLs.
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
1971 With sales of $31 million,
Alcon goes public, with a listing
on the New York Stock Exchange
1950 Alcon introduces its
first two ophthalmic products:
Ophthalzin™ for minor eye
infections and Zincfrin® for red,
itchy eyes
Inc., broadening its surgical
manufacturing capabilities
1953 While on a sales call in
West Texas, Robert Alexander
and a local physician develop
and patent the DROPTAINER® 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
1970
1962 The Alcon Trust is
established, and continues today
through the Alcon Foundation
1964 Alcon establishes its
charitable, in-kind donation
programs: Medical Missions and
U.S. Patient Assistance Programs
1969 Alcon’s surgical division is
formed with seven associates
1980
1980 Steve Martin, a sales
representative at Ciba-Geigy
created and presented a proposal
on how the company should
diversify its business by entering
the soft contact lens market. On
February 1, 1980, that proposal
was approved and CIBA VISION
was formed
1981 CIBA VISION becomes
the first to market with a visibly
tinted soft contact lens, called
CIBASOFT®
1983 BI-SOFT® is launched, the
first FDA approved soft bifocal
contact lens
1984 Launched SOFTCOLORS®,
one of the first soft lenses to
enhance eye color
1990
1989 Alcon purchases
CooperVision Surgical to become
the world’s leading ophthalmic
surgical company
2006 Alcon launches with the
AcrySof® Toric IOL for cataract
patients with astigmatism
1994 The FDA approves Alcon’s
AcrySof® intraocular lens (IOL),
representing the first time a
material had been developed
specifically for an IOL
1988 Alcon acquires Sharpoint,
1960
1950
1947 Alcon Laboratories, Inc.
is incorporated. The company
begins manufacturing specialty
pharmaceutical products
soft contact lens exclusively for
periodic replacement
2000
1996 CIBA VISION launches
FOCUS® DAILIES® one-day
disposable contact lenses
1996 Ciba-Geigy merged with
Sandoz to form Novartis. CIBA
VISION became the eye care unit
of Novartis
1998 NIGHT & DAY® launches,
representing the first contact
lens for up to 30 nights of
continuous wear
portfolio for LASIK surgery
through the acquisition of
WaveLight AG
Wesley Jessen, a manufacturer of
specialty contact lenses
2005
2001 AOSEPT® (CLEAR CARE®
in North America) launches as
the first one-bottle, peroxide
lens care solution without
added preservatives
2003 Alcon launches the
AcrySof® Natural IOL, which filters
UV and high-energy blue light
2004 CIBA VISION launches
O2OPTIX™ (later re-branded
as AIR OPTIX®), a high oxygen
transmissibility, breathable daily
wear contact lens
2010
2008 Alcon expands its AcrySof®
line with the introduction of
AcrySof® IQ ReSTOR® +3D
multifocal IOL
2012 Alcon acquires the
2014 Alcon enters into an
agreement with Verily (formerly
Google Life Sciences) to license
“smart lens” technology
2012 Alcon acquires Endure
2014 Alcon acquires WaveTec
Vision, the developer of the first
commercialized intra-operative
aberrometry system for cataract
surgery
ophthalmic division of SensoMotoric
Instruments, providing Alcon with
surgical guidance technology for
use in cataract surgery
2010 Alcon launches the
AcrySof® IQ ReSTOR® Multifocal Toric
intraocular lens (IOL) designed to
address both astigmatism and
presbyopia
2007 Alcon expands its product
2000 CIBA VISION acquired
2014 Alcon introduces AIR
OPTIX® COLORS contact lenses,
a monthly color-enhancing
lens with silicone hydrogel
technology available in nine
natural-looking colors
2010 Alcon expands its cataract
surgical portfolio with the
acquisition of LenSx Lasers, Inc.
Today, the LenSx® Laser is the
global leader in cataract
femtosecond laser technology
1990 Launch of Focus®, the first
1978 Nestlé acquires Alcon
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
2014 Alcon expands its
DAILIES® AquaComfort Plus®
family of contact lenses with the
introduction of multifocal and
toric designs
Medical Systems offering advanced
technology ophthalmic microscopes
2013
2011 Alcon launched the world’s
first and only water gradient daily
disposable contact lens,
DAILIES TOTAL1®
2015
2013 Alcon launches the industry’s
most advanced phacoemulsification
technology platform, the
CENTURION® Vision System.
2008 Alcon introduces the
CONSTELLATION® Vision System
for vitreoretinal surgery
2008 CIBA Vision launches
AIR OPTIX® for Astigmatism,
AIR OPTIX® AQUA, and DAILIES®
AquaComfort Plus®
contact lenses
FREE® PureMoist® Multi-Purpose
Disinfecting Solution with
HydraGlyde® Moisture Matrix
for outstanding wettability
2011 The boards of Novartis
and Alcon complete their merger
agreement, giving Novartis 100%
ownership of Alcon. The merger
unites the strengths of Alcon
and CIBA Vision into one eye
care business, making Alcon the
second-largest division of Novartis.
Sales reach $10 billion
2013 Alcon launches VERION™
Reference Unit and the VERION™
Digital Marker an advanced surgical
planning, imaging and guidance
technology designed to provide
greater accuracy and efficiency
during cataract surgery
Visualization System is launched,
to aid in retinal surgery
visualization
2016 Alcon launches
CyPass® Micro-­Stent, a micro
invasive surgical device to treat
patients with glaucoma
2016
2015 Alcon innovates in the
IOL field by launching AcrySof®
IQ PanOptix® trifocal IOLs and
the UltraSert™ Pre-Loaded
Delivery System
2015 Alcon launches next
generation hydrogen
peroxide lens care
solution, AOSEPT®
PLUS with
HydraGlyde®
Solution
(CLEAR CARE® PLUS
in North America)
2011 Alcon launches OPTI-
2016 The NGENUITY® 3D
2016 Two new contact lens
innovations are launched:
DAILIES TOTAL1® Multifocal, the
first and only water gradient
lenses designed for people with
presbyopia, and AIR OPTIX® plus
HydraGlyde, which combines
SmartShield® Technology and
HydraGlyde® Moisture Matrix – for
a unique combination of deposit
protection and longer-lasting lens
surface moisture
2016 Alcon enters into
a strategic alliance with
PowerVision, Inc. to develop
fluid-­based accommodating
lens implants
2017 Alcon launches AcrySof®
2015 The Alcon Experience
Center, an eye health education
and training center, opens at
the Fort Worth, Texas global
headquarters
IQ PanOptix® Toric presbyopia-and
astigmatism-correcting intraocular
lens (IOL) for patients with preexisting corneal astigmatism
undergoing cataract surgery