KKR Forms Falcon Vision to Advance Innovation in Ophthalmology

KKR has announced the creation of a new platform, Falcon Vision, which will source, evaluate, and provide operational and financial capabilities to a diversified group of emerging ophthalmic medical device and biopharmaceutical companies.
 
Falcon Vision will collaborate with the team at Flying L Partners, which brings together business and clinical leaders with decades of experience in building, leading, and funding high-impact ophthalmic technologies, under the leadership of Dr. Bill Link.
 
Dr. Link is a successful entrepreneur and investor with more than 40 years of experience in the ophthalmic sector, having founded two marquee medical device franchises, AMO and Chiron Vision, which catalyzed the markets for cataract and LASIK, respectively. Dr. Link also co-founded Versant Ventures and has a strong track record of investing in and helping scale a number of ophthalmology companies. Other key members of the Flying L Partners team include Andy Corley and Dr. Richard Lindstrom.
 
“Ophthalmology is an important and attractive area for innovation given the unmet need across multiple disease categories, an aging population and the quality-of-life consequences of vision loss,” said Dr. Link. “We are eager to collaborate with Falcon Vision to further our mission of supporting innovative companies to create value in the space.”
 
“There is a significant opportunity to accelerate much-needed therapies in the ophthalmic sector with flexible capital and operational guidance,” said Ali Satvat, member of KKR and head of KKR’s Health Care Strategic Growth investing efforts. “We are excited to work with the proven team at Flying L Partners to provide companies with the resources that they need in order to advance new products to treat ophthalmic diseases and preserve vision for millions of patients.”
 
For KKR, the investment is from its Health Care Strategic Growth Fund, which is focused on high-growth companies for which KKR can be a unique partner in helping reach scale.
 
KKR is a global investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate and credit, with strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns for its fund investors by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing people, and driving growth and value creation with KKR portfolio companies. KKR invests its own capital alongside the capital it manages for fund investors and provides financing solutions and investment opportunities through its capital markets business. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds. 
 
Falcon Vision is an ophthalmology-focused platform supported by KKR. The platform will invest in and manage a diversified portfolio of emerging assets across medical devices and biopharmaceuticals. Falcon Vision’s strategy is to address the need for capital, access to executive talent, and operational guidance to support advancement of innovative products for under-managed ophthalmic diseases and vision preservation. Falcon Vision will collaborate with the team at Flying L Partners to identify and execute new opportunities.
 
Flying L Partners brings together business and clinical leaders with decades-long track records of building, leading, and funding high-impact ophthalmic technologies. The mission is to identify promising opportunities and accelerate value creation with strategic and operational insights. Flying L Partners focuses on both medical device and biopharmaceutical opportunities with differentiated clinical value propositions, identified regulatory and reimbursement paths, and tangible milestones to crystalize value. The team at Flying L Partners will collaborate with Falcon Vision to identify and execute new opportunities.