With a minimum of 400 consumer lawsuits over last year's recall of ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens solution, Bausch & Lomb posted a disappointing May 2007 financial report. The earnings report, which is for the first quarter of 2006, was filed late, in part because Bausch & Lomb needed time to assess the financial losses caused by the recall. According to the report, the Renu MoistureLoc recall reduced Bausch & Lomb's first quarter 2006 net income by $19.6 million dollars.
Bausch & Lomb's troubles began in 2006, when ReNu with MoistureLoc became linked to fusarium keratatis, a rare eye infection that may cause potential blindness.
Bausch & Lomb pulled MoistureLoc from Asian markets in February 2006, and did the same in the United States in April 2006, before finally issuing a worldwide recall in May 2006.
As of June 30, 2006, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed 164 cases of the eye infection. The CDC report determined that bad hygiene habits among users were not to blame for the infections, but that that contact lens solution appeared to have poor disinfectant qualities.
In October 2006, the FDA issued a warning letter to Bausch & Lomb, criticizing the company for not reporting nearly three dozen infections linked to MoistureLoc that occurred before sales of the product were suspended. The letter also cited the company for numerous violations at its Greenville, South Carolina manufacturing plant.
In March 2007, Bausch & Lomb issued a voluntary recall of another contact lens product, Renu Multiplus Solution, for having trace amounts of iron. The Multiplus Solution is also manufactured at Greenville. The iron could lead to a shortened shelf life for the solution.
Analysts have estimated that Bausch & Lomb could face potential liabilities of as much as $1 billion over lawsuits stemming from the MoistureLoc debacle, although some have predicted that the amount will be much higher.
source: http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/1582
