Alcon and Prevent Blindness America Partner at AARP Annual Meeting to Help Baby Boomers Better Manage Eye Health

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Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2007 20:28:38 -0400

Business Wire
Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Alcon and Prevent Blindness America Partner at AARP Annual Meeting to Help Baby
Boomers Better Manage Eye Health

By Press Release

HUENENBERG, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--At the 2007 American Association of
Retired Persons (AARP) Annual Meeting in Boston last month, Alcon, Inc.
(NYSE:ACL), the world's largest eye care company, joined with the nation's
leading volunteer eye health organization, Prevent Blindness America, to
educate Baby Boomers about practical approaches to maintaining healthy eyes and
good vision. As part of their commitment to promoting quality vision health,
Alcon and Prevent Blindness America facilitated more than 400 complimentary eye
screenings testing visual acuity and visual field. Alcon also sponsored several
informational presentations about glaucoma, cataracts and dry eye featuring
leading ophthalmologists. In addition, the partnering groups encouraged meeting
attendees to speak with onsite physicians about specific eye health concerns
and offered educational literature and product samples.

According to a 2002 study conducted by Prevent Blindness America, it is
estimated that more than 3.4 million older Americans are legally blind, with
the prevalence of blindness or visual impairment increasing rapidly after the
age of 75. Many of these cases could have been prevented if aging Americans
took a more proactive approach to their overall eye health.

"Alcon and Prevent Blindness America's support of free screenings and eye
health educational programs at the AARP Annual Meeting was an important public
service. This was a valuable step towards increasing awareness about vision
health in the older population," said Paul Schacknow, M.D., Ph.D., chief of
Glaucoma Services, Visual Health and Surgical Center, and clinical associate
professor, Department of Surgery, Division of Ophthalmology, Nova Southeastern
University. "As this generation continues to age, it is imperative that they
get examined regularly and learn when they might be at risk. It was a great
opportunity to participate in the glaucoma screening and to meet and interact
with the people who were screened and answer their questions."

In addition to Dr. Schacknow, several other doctors attended the AARP Annual
Meeting on behalf of Alcon, including:

Jane Bachman, O.D., F.A.A.O., adjunct clinical faculty, Medical College of
Wisconsin.
Elyse Chaglasaian, O.D., F.A.A.O., associate professor of optometry, Illinois
College of Optometry, and Midwest Refractive Surgery & Cornea Consulting,
Hoffman Estates, IL.
Robert Kupsc, O.D., Nielsen Eye Center.
Kenneth Lebow, O.D., F.A.A.O.
Steven A. Nielsen, M.D., president of the Nielsen Eye Center, assistant
professor of clinical ophthalmology, Tufts University School of Medicine.
James Pasternack, M.D., assistant professor, University of Connecticut,
clinical instructor, Yale University.
Clark Springs, M.D., assistant professor of clinical ophthalmology, Indiana
University School of Medicine.
During the course of the meeting, Alcon surveyed people being screened and
other visitors to its booth to find out what their greatest concerns were with
respect to their eyes and vision. Among the most frequently noted concerns
were:

Contact lens solutions and dryness.
Dry eyes and therapies to soothe or cure ocular dryness.
Latest technologies in intraocular lenses, specifically for presbyopia and
astigmatism.
New treatments for macular degeneration.
Ocular vitamins and specific brands.
Therapies for eye diseases common in the Baby Boomer audience, such as
glaucoma, cataracts and dry eye.
Vision loss from glaucoma and the latest surgical techniques.
"By partnering with Prevent Blindness America and eye care professionals from
around the country, we were able to outreach to thousands of Boomers about
vision at the AARP's meeting," said Cary Rayment, chairman, president and chief
executive officer of Alcon, Inc. "Together we raised vision awareness and
promoted proactive eye health management among older Americans, and we look
forward to building upon this important message in the future."

Prevent Blindness America's most recent study, The Economic Impact of Vision
Problems: The Toll of Major Adult Eye Disorders, Visual Impairment, and
Blindness on the U.S. Economy, which came out in April 2007, estimated that
vision problems in the United States costs the economy roughly $51.4 billion.

"We were honored to participate in the AARP meeting alongside Alcon and eye
care professionals to help promote vision health as people age," said Daniel D.
Garrett, senior vice president of Prevent Blindness America. "This meeting
provided us the opportunity to spread the word about practicing better eye
health to identify diseases and conditions at an early stage and prevent
permanent vision loss."

The AARP Annual Meeting provides Americans over 50 a venue to learn about the
products and services that matter the most to them and their lifestyle. This
year, more than 25,000 individuals and AARP members attended the Annual
Meeting.

About Alcon

Alcon is the world's leading eye care company and has been improving eye health
and vision for more than 60 years. Alcon has the broadest offering of
pharmaceutical, surgical and consumer products for the eye including leading
products such as the AcrySof® Natural IQ, AcrySof® ReStor® and AcrySof® Toric
intraocular lenses for cataract surgery, Travatan® ophthalmic solution for
glaucoma, Patanol® and Pataday® ophthalmic solutions for eye allergies,
Vigamox® ophthalmic solution and TobraDex® ophthalmic suspension for eye
infections and OptiFree® Replenish® multipurpose disinfecting solution for
contact lenses. With the largest corporate research and development commitment
of any eye care company worldwide, Alcon develops pharmaceutical products to
treat glaucoma, retinal diseases, dry eye, infection, inflammation and allergy;
surgical products for cataract, vitreoretinal and refractive procedures, and
consumer products in the areas of contact lens care, dry eye and ocular healt
h. In 2006, Alcon invested $512 million to research and develop new products
and plans to invest more than $3 billion over the next five years to discover
and develop new treatments for conditions and diseases of the eye. For more
information about Alcon, please visit www.alcon.com.

About Prevent Blindness America

Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness America is the nation's leading volunteer
eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving
sight. Focused on promoting a continuum of vision care, Prevent Blindness
America touches the lives of millions of people each year through public and
professional education, advocacy, certified vision screening and training,
community and patient service programs and research. These services are made
possible through the generous support of the American public. Together with a
network of affiliates, divisions and chapters, it's committed to eliminating
preventable blindness in America. For more information, or to make a
contribution to the sight-saving fund, call 1-800-331-2020.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements. This press release contains
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results,
performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results,
performances or achievements expressed or implied by our forward-looking
statements. These statements reflect the views of our management as of the date
of this press release with respect to future events and are based on
assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties. Given these uncertainties,
you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Except
to the extent required under the federal securities laws and the rules and
regulations promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, we undertake
no obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statem
ents, whether to reflect new information or future events or circumstances or
otherwise.

Contacts
Alcon
Andrea Dorsett, 972-341-2567
Strategic Corporate Communications
Andrea.Dorsett@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.alcon.com

At A Glance
Alcon, Inc.
Source: via Business Wire
Updated 05/02/2007 by company
Headquarters: Huenenberg, Switzerland
Website: http://www.alconinc.com
CEO: Cary Rayment
Employees: 12,700
Ticker: ACL (NYSE)
Revenues: $4.9 Billion (2006)
Net Income $1.3 Billion (2006)

Source: via Business Wire

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20071010005798&newsLang=en
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Alcon and Prevent Blindness America Partner at AARP Annual Meeting to Help Baby Boomers Better Manage Eye Health

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