Washington, D.C. 20549

For the month of October 2002

Bösch 69

The following press release was issued by Alcon, Inc. on October 9, 2002.

Hünenberg, Switzerland - October 9, 2002 - Alcon, Inc. (NYSE: ACL) announced today that it has reached a global settlement with Pharmacia Corporation (NYSE:PHA) on all intellectual property disputes involving Alcon's newest anti-glaucoma product, Travatan^® ophthalmic solution. Joining in the settlement was Columbia University, which licenses some of the involved patents to Pharmacia. Alcon's Travatan^® competes with Pharmacia's glaucoma medication, Xalatan*. Both are prostaglandin-based products and are used to treat open angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension.

The agreement ends all outstanding patent and trademark disputes relating to Travatan^® between the companies worldwide, and gives Alcon the unrestricted right to continue selling Travatan^® throughout the world. In return, Alcon will pay Pharmacia royalties for a specified time based on Alcon's past and future sales of Travatan^®.

"Given the extent of the litigation and the prospect that it could continue for years to come, both parties saw the value in a business resolution of our differences. We are extremely pleased to have resolved all of our litigation issues with Pharmacia, and we look forward to continuing to expand our glaucoma franchise through increased sales of Travatan^®," said Tim Sear, Chairman of Alcon, Inc. "Because we had anticipated continuing litigation expenses or settlement costs, this resolution will not have a material impact on our margins and financial results for 2002, nor on our guidance for 2003."

Travatan^® is Alcon's newest drug for the treatment of glaucoma. Dosed once daily and requiring no refrigeration, this drug provides eye care professionals with a convenient and effective choice for treating their glaucoma patients. In addition, Travatan^® is the only glaucoma medication to have received U.S. Food and Drug Administration labeling approval for its increased efficacy in African-American patients. This group of patients suffers more frequently and severely from glaucoma and represents an estimated 25% of glaucoma patients in the United States. Since gaining European Union approval in December 2001, Alcon has launched Travatan^® in 53 countries around the world.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, relating principally to our continued ability to effectively market and sell Travatan^® as a treatment for glaucoma and ocular hypertension. These statements also involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. These 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. Factors that might cause future results to differ include, but are not limited to, the following: treatments developed by other companies may prove to be more effective than Travatan^®; challenges inherent in product marketing; and government regulation and legislation. You should read this press release with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. 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.

Doug MacHatton (Alcon Investor Relations)

www.alconinc.com