Alcon acquired the intraocular lens developer in a $285m deal that follows $106m in funding from investors including its parent company Novartis as well as Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic.

Alcon, an eyecare subsidiary of pharmaceutical firm Novartis, agreed yesterday to buy US-based eyecare technology developer PowerVision, a Novartis portfolio company, in a $285m transaction.

Founded in 2002, PowerVision is developing an intraocular lens (IOL) implant aimed at improving the sight of elderly patients suffering from cataracts and presbyopia, a condition that gradually reduces the eye’s ability to actively focus.

The implant is inserted into the eye’s capsular bag and reacts to the natural contractions of the eye muscles to…