Alcon Inc. (ACL)

Competition

The ophthalmic industry is highly competitive and subject to rapid technological change and evolving industry requirements and standards. Companies within our industry compete on technological leadership and innovation, quality and efficacy of their products, relationships with eye care professionals and healthcare providers, breadth and depth of product offering and pricing. The presence of these factors varies across our product offerings. We provide a broad line of proprietary eye care products and compete in all major product categories in the ophthalmic market with the exception of contact lenses and eyeglasses. Even if our principal competitors do not have a comparable range of products, they can, and often do, form strategic alliances and enter into co-marketing agreements to achieve comparable coverage of the ophthalmic market. We face strong local competitors in some markets, especially in Japan.

Pharmaceutical

Competition in the ophthalmic pharmaceutical market is characterized by category leadership of products with superior technology, including increases in clinical effectiveness (e.g., new compounds, new drug delivery systems, formulations and combination products), the development of therapies for previously untreated conditions (e.g., AMD) and competition based on price from competing brands or generic pharmaceuticals.

Our main competitors in the pharmaceutical market are Allergan, Inc., Bausch & Lomb Incorporated, Pfizer, Inc., Merck & Co., Inc., Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Inspire Pharmaceuticals Inc., ISTA Pharmaceuticals Inc., Vistakon Pharmaceuticals, LLC (a Johnson & Johnson company), Genentech Inc. and Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

Surgical

Superior technology and product performance give rise to category leadership in the ophthalmic surgical market. Service and long term relationships are also key factors in this competitive environment. Surgeons rely on the quality, convenience, value and efficiency of a product and the availability and quality of technical service. While we compete throughout the field of ophthalmic surgery, our principal competitors vary somewhat in each area. We compete with Bausch & Lomb and Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. across most of the ophthalmic surgical market, and with national or regional companies, such as Hoya Corporation (Japan and Korea), in some international markets.

Consumer Eye Care Products

The consumer eye care business is characterized by competition for market share in a maturing market through the introduction of products that provide superior technology or effectiveness. Recommendations from eye care professionals and customer brand loyalty as well as our product quality and price are key factors in maintaining market share in these products. Our principal competitors in contact lens care products are Bausch & Lomb, Advanced Medical Optics, CIBA Vision Corporation (a Novartis AG company) and, in Japan, Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. We mainly compete with Allergan, Johnson & Johnson and Novartis in artificial tears products and Bausch & Lomb in ocular vitamins. All consumer eye care markets include significant competition from private label store brands, which generally are less costly to the consumer.

Competition

The ophthalmic industry is highly competitive and subject to rapid technological change and evolving industry requirements and standards. Companies within our industry compete on technological leadership and innovation, quality and

efficacy of their products, relationships with eye care professionals and health care providers, breadth and depth of product offering and pricing. The presence of these factors varies across our product offerings. We provide a broad line of proprietary eye care products and compete in all product categories in the ophthalmic market with the exception of contact lenses and eyeglasses. Even if our principal competitors do not have a comparable range of products, they can, and often do, form strategic alliances and enter into co-marketing agreements to achieve comparable coverage of the ophthalmic market. We face strong local competitors in some markets, such as Japan.

Pharmaceutical

Competition in the ophthalmic pharmaceutical market is characterized by category leadership of products with superior technology, including increases in clinical effectiveness (e.g., new drug delivery systems, formulations and combination products), the development of therapies for previously untreated conditions (e.g., AMD) and competition based on price from lower-priced generic pharmaceuticals.

Our main competitors in the pharmaceutical market are Allergan, Inc., Bausch & Lomb Incorporated, Pfizer, Inc., Merck & Co., Inc., Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Inspire Pharmaceuticals Inc., ISTA Pharmaceuticals Inc., Vistakon Pharmaceuticals, LLC (a Johnson & Johnson company) and Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

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Competition

The ophthalmic industry is highly competitive and subject to rapid technological change and evolving industry requirements and standards. Companies within our industry compete on technological leadership and innovation, quality and efficacy of their products, relationships with eye care professionals and health care providers, breadth and depth of product offering and pricing. The presence of these factors varies across our product offerings. We provide a broad line of proprietary eye care products and compete in all product categories in the ophthalmic market. Even if our principal competitors do not have a comparable range of products, they can, and often do, form strategic alliances and enter into co-marketing agreements to achieve comparable coverage of the ophthalmic market. We face strong local competitors in some markets, such as Japan.

Pharmaceutical

Competition in the ophthalmic pharmaceutical market is characterized by category leadership of products with superior technology, including increases in clinical effectiveness (e.g., new drug delivery systems, formulations and combination products), the development of therapies for previously untreated conditions (e.g., AMD) and competition based on price from lower-priced generic pharmaceuticals.

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Competition