Hearing / Vision / Dental

Glaukos Corp. said its iDose TR travoprost intracameral implant met the primary goal of a phase 4 trial in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. At three months, participants who underwent cataract surgery and received iDose TR saw a mean diurnal intraocular pressure reduction of 11.1 mmHg from baseline, compared with 7.4 mmHg for those who had cataract surgery alone. The iDose TR arm was also superior to cataract surgery alone in secondary responder analyses. No treatment-related adverse events of corneal endothelial cell loss, cystoid macular edema, or serious corneal adverse events were reported. iDose TR is designed to provide a continuous supply of travoprost inside the eye for up to three years.

Goldman Sachs upgraded Sonova Holding to buy from neutral and raised its price target to CHF315 from CHF230, sending the hearing-aid maker's shares to a 16-month high. The stock rose around 0.5% to its highest level since June 11, 2025, outperforming a broader Swiss market that saw the SMI fall about 0.8% on Thursday. Goldman Sachs said Sonova is well positioned to outperform the overall hearing-aid market, citing product innovation, opportunities to gain market share in Asia and improving industry fundamentals. The broker expects the company to deliver around 9% constant-currency revenue growth in the first half of fiscal 2027, well above Visible Alpha consensus of 6.2%, which it sees as a potential catalyst for the shares. Goldman now expects Sonova to reach the upper end of its FY27 guidance, forecasting 7.8% constant-currency revenue growth versus 6.6% consensus, while adjusted EBIT growth including FX is seen at 12.6% versus 6.5% consensus, and it raised FY27-29 revenue estimates by 4%-7% and adjusted EBIT and EPS estimates by 7%-10%. The next major catalyst is Sonova's November 12 first-half FY27 results, where Goldman expects the company's stronger-than-consensus growth to become more visible.

Dental Corporation Public Company Limited, or D, is maintaining its target for total revenue growth in 2026 at around 10%. Chief Executive Officer Pornsak Tantapakul said foreign customers account for the main share, roughly 60-70% of total revenue, and their purchasing power remains strong with growth of nearly 10%. Thai customers account for about 30% of total revenue and have contracted by around 3-4% amid the economic slowdown. Growth in foreign customers has helped offset the slowdown in the domestic market. For the fourth quarter of 2026, the company expects operating results to continue growing on the back of foreign customers' purchasing power, and it will begin considering opening new branches again, focusing on locations that target foreign customers. Initially, it plans to open an average of about one branch per quarter. The company is continuing to pursue growth after meeting all the qualifications to move from the Market for Alternative Investment, or mai, to trade on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, or SET, which will help raise its profile, build confidence, and open up more opportunities to reach institutional investors. After listing on the SET, several securities firms have begun preparing analyst reports assessing its growth prospects over the next one to two years. Meanwhile, the major shareholder group, which holds about 50% of the shares, has no plans to sell its shares and does not intend to raise capital at this time. The company has a strong cash flow position and a policy of paying dividends every six months, representing a dividend yield of about 5-6% per year.

SpyGlass Pharma, Inc. announced today it has acquired all outstanding shares of common stock of Advanced Vision Science, Inc., an ophthalmic medical device company and manufacturer of intraocular lenses and lens materials, for approximately $13 million in cash. AVS was a wholly owned subsidiary of Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and is the current supplier of the intraocular lens used in SpyGlass Pharma's two Phase 3 registrational trials evaluating the BIM-IOL System. The acquisition secures scalable commercial intraocular lens manufacturing capacity for SpyGlass Pharma's lead product candidate and accelerates its pathway to adding premium lens options into its intraocular-lens-based drug delivery system. Under the agreement, AVS will be the exclusive manufacturer and supplier of several types of intraocular lenses to Santen for commercialization in Japan, and will continue to license its glistening-free hydrophobic acrylic lens material to Bausch + Lomb for use in the enVista intraocular lens line and manufacture products for other global intraocular lens companies. SpyGlass Pharma said it intends to continue supporting AVS customers and licensees utilizing their proprietary intraocular lens material technology, such as Santen, Bausch + Lomb, and other global intraocular lens companies.

Neuromod Devices has announced the appointment of Joe Ghiz as Chief Commercial Officer and Shannon Basham as VP of Channel Development. Ghiz joins Neuromod's senior management team and will lead the company's global commercial function as it continues to strengthen its position as the category creator in tinnitus care, with CEO Dr. Ross O'Neill citing robust clinical evidence, global regulatory approval, and broad commercial adoption as positioning the company for rapid scaling to address the needs of 740 million tinnitus sufferers worldwide. Ghiz joins from Align Technology, the company behind Invisalign, where he helped create and scale the clear aligner category and built a $10 billion company, and previously spent over a decade at Johnson & Johnson Vision Care in leadership roles spanning sales, marketing, and business development. Basham brings more than 20 years of experience in the hearing care industry, having most recently served as Senior Director of Audiology for Sonova Group in the United States of America, where she was the market-facing head of audiology for the Phonak and Unitron wholesale businesses. The appointments support Neuromod's goal of positioning its non-invasive bimodal neuromodulation tinnitus treatment device, Lenire, as a new standard of care in ENT and audiology practices.

Bernstein has named Sonova as its short-term top pick and Alcon as its preferred long-term idea in a new H2 playbook for European medtech, assigning both "outperform" ratings with price targets of CHF 275 and CHF 76.15, respectively. Sonova, the world's No. 1 player in the $7.7 billion hearing aid wholesale market with roughly a 25% unit share, is expected to benefit from a multi-pronged growth setup into its H1 2026/27E results in November, with Bernstein forecasting H1 wholesale organic growth of 10.1% versus consensus at 8% and Group organic growth of 6.5% versus consensus of 4.9%. The bull case rests on continued strength from the EON Sphere launch, further share gains at Costco, where the Infinio-based device only entered the channel in March 2026, and another seven months of tailwind from Virto R hearing aid sales, plus a sharp H2 improvement in the Cochlear Implant business and accelerating M&A contribution in Retail as rivals Demant and Amplifon remain financially constrained. Bernstein's core EBIT estimates sit 5-8% above consensus across 2026/27E-2028/29E. On Alcon, the dominant ophthalmology player holding #1 or #2 positions across most of its sub-markets, Bernstein argues investor sentiment on the intraocular lens and consumables businesses has become "overly negative" and that the pressure is "largely transitory," expecting implantables growth to accelerate to 4% in 2027. Bernstein's constant-currency revenue growth estimates run 38-112 bps above consensus for 2026E-2028E, with core EPS estimates 1-9% higher, and at roughly 17x NTM P/E it sees an attractive entry point into what it calls a "multi-year compounding business."

Bloomberg reports that Taiwan's population may decline to about 12.15 million by 2075, a drop of roughly 48% from 2026 levels, amid a continued decrease in births and young population, while the number of elderly rises significantly, posing long-term challenges to the labor market, economy, and defense capabilities. Estimates from Taiwan's National Development Council (NDC), based on household registration data, indicate that the working-age population will shrink by nearly two-thirds over the next 50 years. By 2075, the population aged 0-14 will be only 585,000, the working-age population (15-64) will be about 5.13 million, and those aged 65 and above will reach 6.43 million, meaning the elderly will outnumber the working-age population and account for more than half of the total population. These figures reflect risks after the population peaked at 23.6 million in 2019, and could also affect Taiwan's security, as the military still relies partly on conscription amid threats from China.

The European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended approval of Roche's Susvimo for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Susvimo is the first continuous delivery treatment that offers an alternative to standard-of-care eye injections, using the Contivue refillable implant to deliver a customized formulation of ranibizumab with as few as two treatments per year. The positive recommendation is based on data from the LADDER, Archway, and Portal studies showing Susvimo maintained vision equivalent to monthly intravitreal ranibizumab injections, with longer-term data supporting maintenance of vision up to seven years. A final decision from the European Commission is expected in the near future. Neovascular age-related macular degeneration affects 1.7 million people in the European Union and is a leading cause of blindness in people over 60.

BDMS Wellness Clinic, a subsidiary of Bangkok Dusit Medical Services Public Company Limited, or BDMS, has launched the Longevity Card, a personalized health care card valued at 1 million baht, to penetrate the luxury wellness market and elevate Thailand as a global health hub. Members will receive continuous care from a team of doctors and multidisciplinary professionals throughout one year, covering health monitoring programs, early-stage cancer and Alzheimer's risk screening, cellular and genetic analysis, as well as dental and skincare services. The card is available by invitation only with a limited number accepted each year, and is linked to benefits from a network of leading lifestyle and travel partners. Dr. Tanupol Virunhagarun, President of the BDMS Wellness Group Executive Committee, stated that the organization will continue to develop preventive health care technology to drive Thailand toward becoming a sustainable global health and wellness destination.

The global dental services market is projected to reach USD 425.56 billion in 2026 and grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.65% to hit USD 596.85 billion by 2032, according to a new report from ResearchAndMarkets.com. The sector spans general dentistry, orthodontics, periodontics, prosthodontics, endodontics, oral surgery, pediatric dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, dental diagnostics, and maintenance services delivered through private practices, group practices, dental service organizations, public health systems, hospitals, and academic clinics. Demand is supported by the high global burden of oral diseases, aging populations, increasing awareness of preventive care, rising adoption of dental implants and clear aligners, and the growing link between oral health and systemic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory infection risk, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. The World Health Organization estimates that oral diseases affect 3.5 billion people worldwide, making access to affordable, timely, and quality dental care a core public health priority. The report highlights transformative shifts including digital dentistry, teledentistry, artificial intelligence, minimally invasive procedures, and value-based care models, while noting persistent barriers such as uneven insurance coverage, workforce shortages in rural areas, and disparities in pediatric and geriatric oral healthcare access.