No private equity firms entered the ophthalmology space in the fourth quarter of 2019, making it the first time in about two years that the market had no new entrants, according to Physicians First's 2020 ophthalmology outlook report.
Physicians First provided a breakdown of how many PE firms have invested in ophthalmology over the years, including existing investments:
2012: 1
2013: 2
2014: 3
2015: 4
2016: 5
2017: 13
2018: 21
2019 (first quarter): 22
2019 (second quarter): 24
2019 (third quarter): 25
2019 (fourth quarter): 25