Alcon reported on Friday the availability of the pre-loaded CyPass Ultra System for use in adult patients with mild-to-moderate primary open-angle glaucoma undergoing cataract surgery.

This new pre-loaded CyPass Ultra system is expected to be available to surgeons in May 2018. The new system reduces the number of steps required to implant the CyPass Micro-Stent, a microinvasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) device, to help deliver safe, consistent, long-term intraocular pressure (IOP) control, added the company.

The company said the CyPass Ultra System includes a pre-loaded CyPass Micro-Stent, which is housed in a loader tip attached to a hand-held surgical instrument called the CyPass applier. The CyPass Micro-Stent is a prescription medical device that is indicated for use in conjunction with cataract surgery for the reduction of IOP in adult patients with mild-to-moderate primary open-angle glaucoma.

Under the company's randomized, multicenter clinical trial comparing cataract surgery with the CyPass Micro-Stent to cataract surgery alone, the study findings show long-term reduction in intraocular pressure and minimal effects on refractive outcomes versus cataract surgery alone.

In conjunction, the company's CyPass Ultra System, along with the data from the clinical value of the CyPass Micro-Stent, will be presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) annual meeting this year.

Alcon is engaged in eye care and a division of Novartis, a healthcare solutions company headquartered in Basel, Switzerland.