Alcon to Acquire Swiss Biotechnology Firm, ESBATech AG

* Company gains access to proprietary antibody fragment technology
particularly suited to treat eye diseases
* Acquisition establishes sustainable platform for ongoing
biologics development
* Deal builds on other recent transactions to expand breadth and
depth of Alcon's development opportunities in eye care in the
long term
* ESBATech shareholders retain rights to non-ophthalmic technology
and products

HUENENBERG and ZURICH, Switzerland - September 14, 2009

Alcon (NYSE: ACL) announced today that it has entered into a
definitive agreement to acquire ESBATech AG, a Swiss biotechnology
company. Alcon will pay ESBATech shareholders $150 million in cash
at closing, plus contingent payments of up to $439 million based upon
the achievement of future research and development milestones that
would be expected to create value for Alcon. ESBATech is a
clinical-stage biotechnology company that has been developing a
pipeline of proprietary single-chain antibody fragment therapeutics
for topical and local delivery for safe and convenient therapy.

"Biotechnology offers significant growth opportunities in
ophthalmology because it has the potential to deliver therapies with
superior efficacy and safety relative to existing approaches," said
Sabri Markabi, M.D., Alcon's senior vice president of research and
development and chief medical officer. "Combining ESBATech's
proprietary antibody fragment technology with our expertise in
ophthalmic formulation and capabilities in global development will
strengthen Alcon's leadership position in ophthalmology."

ESBATech has advanced its antibody fragment technology to preclinical
and clinical stages in the eye for various diseases. The company has
several stable and soluble single-chain antibody fragments in
development, with its most advanced product candidate progressed into
Phase I and II studies relating to the treatment of inflammatory
ocular diseases.

"I am very proud of what our team has achieved in proving clinically
that our platform delivers therapeutic antibody fragments with
required drug-like properties," said Dr. Dominik Escher, chief
executive officer of ESBATech. "All of us at ESBATech are excited to
join with Alcon to advance this technology further and to develop
products to treat serious eye diseases so that more patients can see
better."

The agreement to acquire ESBATech includes all rights to its
technology for therapeutic application to the eye, including
age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema, glaucoma,
dry eye and uveitis. Substantially all of the employees of ESBATech
will join Alcon upon the finalization of the acquisition. The rights
to the technology and products for application outside of
ophthalmology will be retained by the previous shareholders of
ESBATech and spun off into a separate new company, Delenex
Therapeutics AG.

"This acquisition is part of our ongoing strategy to enhance access
to multiple sources of technologies and compounds that bolster our
total research platform in support of innovative products to treat
eye disease," said Kevin Buehler, Alcon's president and chief
executive officer. "We welcome Dr. Escher and his highly-qualified
team of biotechnology experts who will become the foundation of
Alcon's biologics capability in the future."

As confirmation of the strategy to enhance the Alcon research
platform, this biologics capability acquisition comes on the heels of
Alcon's recent announcement of an agreement with AstraZeneca that
pairs Alcon's ophthalmic research capability with AstraZeneca's rich
drug libraries in a collaborative effort to treat eye diseases. The
ESBATech acquisition expands Alcon's research capability outside of
small molecules to the promising field of proteins, antibodies and
other large molecules.

About Alcon
Alcon, Inc. is the world's leading eye care company, with sales of
approximately $6.3 billion in 2008. Alcon, which has been dedicated
to the ophthalmic industry for 65 years, researches, develops,
manufactures and markets pharmaceuticals, surgical equipment and
devices, contacts lens solutions and other vision care products that
treat diseases, disorders and other conditions of the eye. Alcon
operates in 75 countries and sells products in 180 markets. Alcon's
majority shareholder is Nestlé, S.A., the world's largest food
company. For more information on Alcon, Inc., visit the Company's
web site at www.alcon.com.

About ESBATech
ESBATech is a Zurich, Switzerland-based, privately held, clinical
stage biotechnology company concentrating in research and development
of its antibody fragments for therapeutic applications. ESBATech
applies its proprietary screening platform IMMUNA and its fully human
single-chain antibody frameworks to generate product candidates
against targets of clinical relevance. Prior to the acquisition, the
company focused on three franchises: ophthalmology, rheumatology and
respiratory, advancing a pipeline of novel antibody fragments for
topical and/or local delivery, to ensure safe and convenient patient
therapy. For more information about ESBATech, please visit the
company's web site at www.esbatech.com.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements. This press release may
contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United
States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any
forward- looking statements reflect the views of our management as of
the date of this press release with respect to future events and are
based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties. Given
these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements. Except to the extent required under the
federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated by
the Securities and Exchange Commission, we undertake no obligation to
publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements,
whether to reflect new information or future events or circumstances
or otherwise.

Investor and Media Inquiries

For Alcon: For ESBATech:
Doug MacHatton Dr. Dominik Escher
817-551-8974 +41-44-733 4900
doug.machatton@alconlabs.com escher@esbatech.com

Melissa Mota
817-551-4007
melissa.mota@alconlabs.com

This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is
solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Copyright © Hugin AS 2009. All rights reserved.