FDA panel backs Staar Surgical’s implantable lens

(Reuters) – Staar Surgical Co said an independent advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration recommended marketing approval for its implantable lens, bringing it closer to a long-awaited U.S. launch and sending the company’s shares up 27 percent. The lens — Visian Toric implantable lens — can correct both nearsightedness and blurry vision associated with astigmatism. Analysts at Canaccord Genuity said they expect regulatory approval for the lens in the second half of 2014, adding that “the positive FDA panel is the first of several important milestones on the horizon for Staar.” Staar Surgical sought U.S. marketing approval for the lens in April 2006 but had to wait as the agency raised concerns about the integrity of the submitted data. “We have always viewed the Food and Drug Administration panel as more of a wild card than the FDA, and we ultimately expect the FDA to approve the device,” Benchmark analyst Jan Wald said, raising his price target on Staar’s stock to $21 from $15.