Company Forms German Subsidiary, Opens European Sales Headquarters in Baden-Württemberg
Glaukos Corporation, an ophthalmic medical technology company that develops and markets breakthrough glaucoma products, has expanded its international sales effort with the formation of Glaukos Europe GmbH, a wholly owned German subsidiary.
The company is opening an office in Baden-Württemberg to serve as its European sales headquarters and hiring a direct sales team for the German market. This new direct sales team will supplement the ongoing international sales efforts of existing Glaukos distribution partners in Europe, Asia Pacific, Canada and other targeted geographies. The company also continues to grow its direct sales organization in the United States.
"The establishment of a European sales headquarters and direct sales team for Germany marks an important milestone for Glaukos as we continue to extend our global reach," said Tom Burns, Glaukos president and chief executive officer. "Moreover, it underscores the growing demand among ophthalmic surgeons for our iStent technology as a safe and effective method to manage intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients."
Glaukos pioneered Micro-Invasive Glaucoma Surgery (MIGS), which involves insertion of a micro-bypass device from within the eye's anterior chamber through a small corneal incision. The MIGS device reduces intraocular pressure by restoring the natural outflow pathway for aqueous humor. In 2012, Glaukos received FDA approval and launched its first MIGS device, the iStent® Trabecular Micro-Bypass Stent, which has been shown to lower intraocular pressure in adult patients with mild-to-moderate open-angle glaucoma. The iStent® received CE Mark clearance in 2004.
Industry experts estimate that 78 million people worldwide have glaucoma and project the incidence to rise to more than 88 million by 2019. The majority of patients have mild-tomoderate glaucoma. Despite therapeutic options that attempt to manage disease progression, researchers estimate that 8.4 million people were bilaterally blind from glaucoma in 2010.
About Glaukos
Glaukos is a privately held ophthalmic medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of breakthrough products and procedures to transform the treatment of glaucoma, one of the world's leading causes of blindness. Glaukos pioneered Micro-Invasive Glaucoma Surgery (MIGS) to revolutionize the traditional glaucoma treatment and management paradigm and launched iStent®, its first MIGS device, in the United States in 2012. Measuring 1.0 mm long and 0.33 mm wide, the iStent® is the smallest medical device ever approved by the FDA. Glaukos is leveraging its platform technology to build a comprehensive and proprietary portfolio of injectable micro-scale devices designed to address the complete range of glaucoma disease states and progression. The company is based in Laguna Hills, CA. For more information, visit www.glaukos.com.