Shares of Second Sight Medical Products Inc. – the latest Alfred Mann company to go public – more than doubled Wednesday in its initial public offering. The Sylmar company opened trading at $17 after pricing 3.5 million shares at $9 a share. After several ups and downs during the trading session, shares closed at $19.97, up 122 percent, which valued the company at $723 million. Second Sight trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “EYES.” The sole underwriter, MDB Capital Group in Dallas, has a 45-day option to purchase up to 525,000 additional shares at the IPO price. Second Sight expects total proceeds from the IPO of $31.5 million, or $36.2 million if the underwriter exercises its option. The money will fund commercialization of the company’s products and further product research and development. Second Sight makes an implant that stimulates the optic nerve. A small camera mounted on eyeglasses sends a wireless signal to the device, allowing the person to see some imagery. The system, called Argus II, is approved in the United States for patients with a relatively rare disease called retinitis pigmentosa, and in Europe for several other visual impairments. The company plans to expand approved uses to cover nearly all blind people and to move into new foreign markets. So far it has implanted 90 of the Argus II systems, which are approved for insurance reimbursement only in Germany and France. “Over the next 12 to 18 months we intend to introduce the Argus II System in countries other than the U.S. and Europe with the assistance of local partners in some cases,” the prospectus filed in August for the IPO stated. Mann serves as chairman and will have a 32 percent stake after the IPO. Second Sight recorded a net loss of $23 million last year and $22 million in the first nine months of this year.
