MONROVIA, Calif., Aug. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Moving to strengthen its management team, STAAR Surgical Company (Nasdaq: STAA) announced today that it has named Richard D. Simmons, Senior Vice President of Global Operations and President of STAAR Surgical AG.

Simmons has a broad background with extensive experience across many operational areas in the ophthalmic industry. He held positions in several leading medical device companies, including Chiron Vision and Bausch & Lomb. Most recently he has taken an active role helping establish a refractive surgical device business for a major ophthalmic company. He is a graduate from Cambridge, England.

David Bailey, president and chairman of STAAR Surgical Company said, "Richard Simmons is an excellent addition to our senior management. He brings with him a wealth of experience in our industry along with extremely strong credentials. In addition to becoming the President of our Swiss company and driving change in a number of our overseas operations, Richard will take on global responsibility for our distribution, manufacturing, quality and regulatory functions. He will be of tremendous assistance to me in implementing our new strategy in these areas as we move to make STAAR a profitable growth company."

Founded in 1982, STAAR Surgical Company develops, manufactures and globally distributes medical devices for use in refractive, cataract and glaucoma surgery. The Company's five product lines include silicone and Collamer(TM) foldable intraocular lenses and the Sonic WAVE(TM) phacoemulsification system, all of which are used during cataract surgery, the ICL(TM) (implantable contact lens) which is a refractive lens for the treatment of near- and far-sightedness and the AquaFlow(TM) Collagen Glaucoma Drainage Device. Regulatory approvals vary from market to market with all products except the Toric ICL(TM) and the 3-piece Collamer(TM) IOL available in Europe and all except the ICL(TM) in the United States.

For additional information, about STAAR Surgical, visit the Company's web site at http://www.STAAR.com or www.irbyctc.com . You may wish to contact David Bailey, President, STAAR Surgical, or John Santos, Chief Financial Officer, STAAR Surgical, at (626) 303-7902. To contact Bill Roberts, President, CTC, Inc., or Wayne Backhout, CTC Inc., please call (937) 434-2700

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SOURCE STAAR Surgical Company

CONTACT: David Bailey, President, or John Santos, Chief Financial Officer of STAAR Surgical, 626-303-7902; or Bill Roberts, President, or Wayne Backhout of CTC Inc., 937-434-2700/