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STAAR® Surgical Co history
STAAR® Surgical Co company history timeline
STAAR Surgical Company was founded in 1982 with the goal of creating and manufacturing the world’s first foldable intraocular lens (IOL) for cataract surgery.
By early 1983, one year after starting out, Staar Surgical found itself saddled with $250,000 of debt, prompting Waggoner to seek out interest from venture capitalists.
The interest was there, but far from the intensity hoped for by Waggoner--"there was a wide gulf between my want and their offer," he remembered in his June 1985 interview with Inc.
With full FDA approval not expected until 1987 and monthly expenses averaging $250,000, a consistent stream of revenue was needed to tide the company over until Mazzocco's IOLs completed the FDA approval process.
Staar Surgical's financial condition began to sour in 1987, as losses mounted.
Within four years, the company's sales volume increased eightfold, eclipsing $34 million by 1995.
In 1997, the company’s implantable contact lens received the CE Marking, which indicates that the product was approved by the European Union (EU). The EU represents 28 countries.
In December 2000, David Bailey was appointed president and chief executive officer.
2000: Staar receives FDA approval for its glaucoma surgery device.
As the company celebrated its 20th anniversary, however, it continued to rely heavily on its involvement in the cataract surgery market, which accounted for 95 percent of sales in 2002.
In early 2003, the company's ICL device received favorable publicity in the May 2003 edition of Cornea, The Journal of Cornea and External Disease.
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STAAR® Surgical Co competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bausch + Lomb | 1853 | $4.8B | 12,000 | 562 |
| Endologix | 1992 | $95.3M | 488 | 5 |
| SecantGroup | 2002 | $2.7M | 75 | 12 |
| Cardima | - | - | 50 | - |
| Histogenics | 2000 | $11.9M | 10 | - |
| Greatbatch Medical | 1970 | $290.0M | 500 | - |
| AtriCure | 2000 | $465.3M | 620 | 93 |
| Freudenberg Medical | 1984 | $300.0M | 400 | 194 |
| OraSure Technologies | 1987 | $185.8M | 785 | 3 |
| Veridiam | 2005 | $75.0M | 350 | 17 |
STAAR® Surgical Co history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of STAAR® Surgical Co, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about STAAR® Surgical Co. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at STAAR® Surgical Co. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by STAAR® Surgical Co. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of STAAR® Surgical Co and its employees or that of Zippia.
STAAR® Surgical Co may also be known as or be related to STAAR SURGICAL CO, STAAR Surgical Company, STAAR® Surgical Co, Staar Surgical and Staar Surgical Company.