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Monday, Mar 18, 2024
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Briefs: Second Sight, Simulations Plus

Second Sight Medical Products Inc.’s prosthetic sight system has been approved for use in Canada. Second Sight, in Sylmar, said the approval this week by the government’s Health Canada agency will expand the market for its Argus II system, a small camera mounted on eyeglasses that transmits images wirelessly to an optic nerve implant. The first Canadian received the device June 5 at Toronto Western Hospital in Toronto as part of an investigative study. The Argus II can help a totally blind person recover limited vision, and is approved in the United States for patients with a relatively rare disease called retinitis pigmentosa, and in some European countries for several other visual impairments. The cost for the device runs from about $96,000 in Europe to as much as $150,000 in the United States. “This regulatory approval and the first implants of the Argus II in Canada are tremendous milestones,” said Second Sight Chief Executive Dr. Robert Greenberg, in a statement. Billionaire Alfred Mann founded and is chairman of the company, which went public in November in a $36 million IPO. Shares closed down 39 cents, or nearly 4 percent, to $10.30 on the Nasdaq. Simulations Plus Inc. announced a quarterly cash dividend of 5 cents a share on Thursday. It will be paid on Feb. 2 for shareholders of record on Jan. 26. Earlier this week, the Lancaster company, which makes software used in pharmaceutical research, reported financial results for its fiscal first quarter ended Nov. 30. The company had net income of $529,000 (3 cents a share), compared to net income of $685,000 (4 cents) for the same quarter last year. Revenue rose 55 percent to $4.1 million. Analysts on average expected net income of $882,000 (5 cents) on revenue of $4 million, according to Thomson Financial Network. During the quarter, Simulations Plus merged with Cognigen Corp., a company in Buffalo, N.Y. that helps researchers obtain regulatory approval for new drugs. The quarterly results represent consolidated numbers following the merger. Shares closed down 10 cents, or more than 1 percent, to $6.60 on the Nasdaq.

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