Allergan Lens’ OK Could Add $100 Million in Sales

IRVINE — Allergan Inc. said Monday it received approval to sell a replacement lens with multiple focal lengths for patients with cataracts.

The Irvine-based maker of drugs and surgical products said the lens not only helps provide vision at far and intermediate distances, as do lenses already in use, but also improves near vision. Use of the new lens, dubbed “Array,” can reduce the need for spectacles, the company said.

Steve Lisi, an analyst at Mehta & Isaly in New York, said that in five years the product could contribute as much as $75 million to Allergan’s annual sales, though the company has said the product’s sales could eventually total $100 million a year.

Allergan’s stock closed Monday at a three-month high of $33.63 a share, up 69 cents, on the New York Stock Exchange.