Eye Laser Firms Fight for Market Share

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Competition among makers of ophthalmic lasers used to correct vision heated up this week as vision products company Bausch & Lomb Inc.'s new laser system won U.S. marketing approval and makers of existing systems cut prices.

Bausch & Lomb (NYSE:BOL - news) said on Thursday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the marketing of its Technolas 217 Excimer Laser System, which is already marketed abroad.

The Rochester, N.Y.-based company said it is ready to begin U.S. marketing of the laser, used for the fastest growing refractive procedure for vision correction called LASIK (Laser in-situ Keratomileusis).

VISX Inc. (NasdaqNM:VISX - news) said late on Tuesday it would slash the price it charges to use its laser technology to correct vision by 60 percent, to $100 from a previous $250 per procedure. On Wednesday, VISX stock plunged 5 ^9/16 to close at 16 ^5/16, recovering 2 ^7/16 Thursday to close at 18 ^3/4.

Late Wednesday, Summit Technology Inc. (NasdaqNM:BEAM - news) said it is lowering the royalty fee it charges doctors, in line with cost cuts by its competitors.

Summit said it was instituting a ``tiered pricing'' program for customers, effective immediately, with its Apex Plus/Infinity product ``value priced'' to carry a per procedure licensing fee of $100.

Summit common, which lost 4 ^1/4 Wednesday, to close at 7 ^13/16, closed up ^3/16 at 8 Thursday.

LaserSight Inc. (NasdaqNM:LASE - news) said Thursday that it has halved the fee it charges for procedures using its vision correcting laser to $130 from $260. LaserSight stock closed up ^1/16 to 9 ^3/4 Thursday.

The Bausch & Lomb Technolas 217 will sell for $525,000 per unit. The company will collect a fee of $100 for each procedure performed with its laser.

Bausch & Lomb common shares closed up ^11/16 at 59 ^3/16 on Thursday.

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