Keravision Inc/DE – ‘8-K’ for 4/19/99 – EX-99.18

As of:  Monday, 4/19/99   ·   For:  4/19/99   ·   Accession #:  946154-99-8   ·   File #:  0-26316

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Current Report   —   Form 8-K
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Document/Exhibit                   Description                      Pages   Size 

 1: 8-K         Current Report                                         3     13K 
 2: EX-99.16    News Release Dated 4/12/99                             3±    14K 
 3: EX-99.17    News Release Dated 4/12/99                             3±    13K 
 4: EX-99.18    News Release Dated 4/12/99                             3±    13K 
 5: EX-99.19    News Release Dated 4/14/99                             2±    12K 
 6: EX-99.20    News Release Dated 4/15/99                             3±    13K 
 7: EX-99.21    News Release Dated 4/15/99                             2±    12K 

EX-99.18   —   News Release Dated 4/12/99

EX-99.18
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                                                               Exhibit 99.18

KeraVision and NovaMed Sign Agreement to Offer Intacs (trademark) in            
Five Metropolitan Markets                                                       

Non-laser option for treating myopia approved April 9 by FDA                    

Fremont, CA (April 12, 1999) -- KeraVision, Inc. (Nasdaq: KERA), the            
vision correction company, and NovaMed Eye Care, a privately-held eye           
care services company specializing in vision correction, have signed an         
agreement to make KeraVision's initial product available to NovaMed's           
12 surgical sites and their patients in metropolitan Chicago, Kansas            
City, St. Louis, Louisville, and Richmond, VA.                                  

KeraVision's application to sell Intacs, a non-laser surgical option            
for people with nearsightedness (myopia), was approved April 9 by the           
Food and Drug Administration. Intacs are the first approved non-laser           
surgical product in the U.S. designed especially for mild myopia, which         
affects an estimated 20 million adult Americans.  KeraVision's product          
also is removable -- another first for the vision correction surgery            
market.                                                                         

NovaMed President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen J. Winjum said,           
"NovaMed has closely followed Intacs all the way through the clinical           
studies.  We are excited about the prospect of making this innovative           
treatment available to NovaMed's surgeons and patients. It's very               
possible that Intacs will become the preferred surgical treatment for           
people with mild nearsightedness."                                              

KeraVision Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thomas M. Loarie said,          
"This agreement will help accelerate the introduction of Intacs into            
the marketplace.  NovaMed will provide their surgeons with Intacs               
training and work closely with KeraVision to create consumer acceptance         
for our product in NovaMed's major metropolitan markets."                       

Loarie added, "NovaMed has a reputation for offering a broad range of           
innovative vision care in their cities, and KeraVision is proud to be           
partnered with them."                                                           

Two of NovaMed's surgeons are medical investigators in the Intacs               
clinical studies: Daniel S. Durrie, MD, of Hunkeler Eye Centers in              
Kansas City, who also was recently appointed to KeraVision's blue-              
ribbon Council on Medical Education and Standards; and Steven M.                
Verity, MD, of Saint Louis University Eye Institute, a prominent figure         
in the Intacs trials since 1993.  Both will lead the Intacs surgical            
training for NovaMed's vision correction surgeons.                              

In clinical studies, 74 percent saw 20/20 or better                             

In the U.S. clinical trials, more than half of the nearsighted patients         
saw better than 20/20 after the Intacs treatment and nearly three out           
of four saw at least 20/20.                                                     

Unlike laser procedures, Intacs are designed to reshape corneal                 
curvature and correct myopia without cutting or removing tissue from            
the optical zone, the dome-shaped "window" at the front of the eye.             
Because Intacs are designed to work by adding material to the cornea            
instead of cutting or removing corneal tissue, Intacs are removable --          
a first in the vision correction surgery field.                                 

In January, KeraVision's Pre-Market Approval (PMA) application to sell          
Intacs was unanimously recommended for approval, with certain                   
conditions, by the FDA Ophthalmic Devices Panel. In February, the FDA           
elevated KeraVision's application to "approvable" status, which cleared         
the way for final approval for Intacs, granted on April 9.                      

Over 90 eye care providers in NovaMed system                                    

NovaMed, founded in 1995, is an eye care services company focused on            
vision correction.  It has a large and growing presence in five major           
metropolitan markets.  At the present time, NovaMed's fast growing              
vision correction program, which includes over 90 eye care providers,           
attracts refractive patients through an active optometric co-management         
program and a variety of other marketing initiatives.  NovaMed manages          
over 80 eye care clinics and operates 10 eye-only ambulatory surgery            
centers.  The company also manages an eye-only research center and              
operates full service optical laboratories and a centralized optical            
purchasing business.                                                            

KeraVision, founded in 1986, is creating a new category of non-laser            
vision correction products that are designed especially for mild myopia         
(nearsightedness) and potentially for mild hyperopia (farsightedness).          
These products offer alternatives to eyeglasses, contact lenses and             
vision correction surgeries that permanently alter the eye's central            
optical zone. The initial product is KeraVision Intacs for myopia,              
developed from a technology platform that the company believes will             
potentially treat the most common forms of vision problems.                     

Except for the historical information, the matters discussed in this            
news release are forward-looking statements.  Actual results may differ         
materially due to a variety of factors, including significant                   
unforeseen delays in the regulatory approval process, market acceptance         
of KeraVision Intacs, changes in regulatory review guidelines,                  
procedures, regulations or administrative interpretations,                      
complications relating to KeraVision Intacs or the surgical procedure,          
competitive products and technology, and other risk factors described           
under the heading "Risk Factors Affecting the Company, Its Business and         
Its Stock Price" set forth in the company's Form 10-K for the year              
ended December 31, 1998, as well as in other SEC filings.                       

For further information:                                                        
Investors:  Mark Fischer-Colbrie (510) 353-3000                                 
Media:  Mick Taylor (510) 353-3075                                              

KeraVision, Inc.                                                                
48630 Milmont Drive                                                             
Fremont, CA  94538-7353                                                         
Fax: (510) 353-3030                                                             

www.keravision.com                                                              
"Fax on Demand"                                                                 
(800) 448-8559                                                                  
Intacs are a registered                                                         
trademark or trademark                                                          
of KeraVision, Inc. in                                                          

Dates Referenced Herein   and   Documents Incorporated by Reference

This ‘8-K’ Filing		Date		Other Filings
Filed on / For Period End:		4/19/99
		4/12/99
		12/31/98		10-K,  10-K/A
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