STAAR Surgical Appoints Hans Blickensdoerfer President of International Commercial Operations

MONROVIA, Calif., April 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ: STAA), a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of implantable lenses and delivery systems for the eye, has named Hans Blickensdoerfer to the newly created position of President, International Commercial Operations. Mr. Blickensdoerfer joined STAAR in January 2005 and most recently served as President of Europe, Middle East and Latin America.

"Hans and his team have successfully grown our EMEA business at a 19% five-year compound annual growth rate.  Hans will now expand his focus and diligence on commercial operations excellence to include the Asia Pacific Region for STAAR," said Caren Mason, President & CEO of STAAR Surgical. "One of Hans' most significant contributions includes the number of prestigious research relationships he has developed with top refractive and cataract surgeons that hold great promise for our clinical validations both retrospectively and prospectively. His focus on the surgeon, the patient, and clinical utility makes him uniquely positioned to expand his successes across our entire international market."

Mr. Blickensdoerfer, age 50, has over 15 years' experience in the ophthalmic device industry. Prior to joining STAAR, he was Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Milvella Ltd., an Australia-based medical device maker, where his duties included both regional and worldwide business planning, product launches and management of European clinical studies. He worked from 2000 through 2002 for Novartis-CIBA Vision, an ophthalmic surgical company as the Commercial Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Between 1997 and early 2000 he worked for the Ophthalmic Surgical Division of Bausch & Lomb, Inc. as its Area Sales Manager for Central and Eastern Europe, and prior to this he worked in sales and product management positions in the Ophthalmic Surgical Division of Chiron Vision. Mr. Blickensdoerfer received his diploma in Marketing and International Management from the University of Mannheim in Germany. Mr. Blickensdoerfer is based in Nidau, Switzerland.  

About STAAR Surgical

STAAR, which has been dedicated solely to ophthalmic surgery for over 25 years, designs, develops, manufactures and markets implantable lenses for the eye and delivery systems therefor. All of these lenses are foldable, which permits the surgeon to insert them through a small incision. STAAR's lens used in refractive surgery as an alternative to LASIK is called an Implantable Collamer® Lens or "ICL." A lens used to replace the natural lens after cataract surgery is called an intraocular lens or "IOL." More than 500,000 Visian ICLs have been implanted to date. To learn more about the ICL go to: www.visianinfo.com. STAAR has approximately 300 employees and markets lenses in over 60 countries. Headquartered in Monrovia, CA, the company operates manufacturing facilities in Aliso Viejo, CA and Monrovia, CA. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.staar.com.

Safe Harbor

All statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including statements about any of the following: any sales or any other financial items; the plans, strategies, and objectives of management for future operations or activities or prospects for achieving such plans; statements regarding clinical validations; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing.  Important additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 2, 2015, under the caption "Risk Factors," which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available in the "Investor Information" section of the company's website under the heading "SEC Filings."

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 the following: our limited capital resources and limited access to financing; the negative effect of unstable global economic conditions on sales of products, especially products such as the ICL used in non-reimbursed elective procedures; the challenge of managing our foreign subsidiaries; backlog or supply delays; the risk of unfavorable changes in currency exchange rates; the discretion of regulatory agencies to approve or reject new or improved products, or to require additional actions before approval (including but not limited to FDA requirements regarding the TICL and/or actions related to the FDA Warning Letter and Form FDA-483s), or to take enforcement action; unexpected costs or delays that could reduce or eliminate the expected benefits of our consolidation plans; the risk that research and development or clinical  efforts will not be successful or may be delayed; the willingness of surgeons and patients to adopt a new or improved product and procedure; and a general decline in the demand for refractive surgery particularly in the U.S. and the Asia Pacific region. 

SOURCE STAAR Surgical Company

Related Links

http://www.staar.com