Bausch & Lomb Contact Lens Cleanser Is Pulled Off U.S. Shelves

Archives Admin · #1 (**permalink**) 04-12-2006, 11:53 AM

Stores across America started clearing their shelves of a Bausch & Lomb Inc. contact lens cleanser linked to a rare infection that can cause blindness, and doctors said there may be more cases.

Retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Walgreen Co. and Rite Aid Corp. yesterday ordered units to stop selling Bausch & Lomb's ReNu with MoistureLoc. The contact lens maker suspended shipments without recalling the product after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was reviewing reports of 109 cases of suspected fungal keratitis.

Bausch & Lomb, whose shares fell the most in five years, declined to discuss the product and scheduled a conference call led by Chief Executive Officer Ron Zarrella for 8:30 a.m. New York time. Doctors said they didn't know what to tell the 30 million American wearers of contact lenses and were concerned that summer weather would encourage the infection to spread.

``We realize that this is a potential problem of significant proportion,'' said Art Epstein, a Long Island optometrist who is chairman of the American Optometric Association's contact lens and cornea section, in an interview yesterday. ``My guess is that there are probably a significant number of patients who have not yet been reported.''

Bausch & Lomb, a 153-year-old maker of optical products based in Rochester, New York, gets 23 percent of its sales from lens-care products. The company had 2004 revenue of $2.2 billion. While ReNu with MoistureLoc accounted for $45 million of 2005 sales, other products in the ReNu line may also be tarnished, said Michael Weinstein, a J.P. Morgan analyst in New York, in a note to clients.

Shares Plunge

The shares fell $8.41, or 15 percent, to $49.03 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, after dropping as low as $45.50. The decline was the biggest since a 36 percent plunge on Aug. 24, 2000. Analysts at First Albany Corp., Robert W. Baird & Co., Piper Jaffray & Co. and J.P. Morgan issued downgrades yesterday.

Of 30 cases reviewed so far by the Atlanta-based CDC, 26 involved wearers of soft contact lenses who were using Bausch & Lomb's ReNu products, the company said in an April 10 statement. Two of the patients didn't use contact lenses and two didn't remember which cleansing solution they used, the CDC said.

Eight people who contracted the infection needed corneal transplants, according to the CDC. The eye fungus can cause severe corneal infections that can lead to blindness, according to the St Louis-based American Optometric Association, representing 34,000 optometrists, students and technicians. Symptoms include sudden blurred or fuzzy vision, red, irritated eyes, pain and sensitivity to light.

Waitress's Scare

Christina Michiels, a 25-year-old Sarasota, Florida, waitress, said her eyes were so red and swollen she could no longer wear her contact lenses. Her eyes burned with pain, and she was scared she might lose her eyesight altogether. Initially diagnosed with allergies, she learned a week later from a specialist that she had the fungal infection.

``The doctor said if I waited another week I could have lost total vision in my right eye,'' Michiels said yesterday in an interview. Now she is taking medication every four hours to treat the disorder, she said. ``It's been so painful,'' she said.

Issue of Timing

About two weeks ago, the CDC sent a letter to doctors asking that they report any incidents of fungal infection in contact lens wearers, said Christopher Rapuano, co-director of the cornea department at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. Rapuano said the hospital found about 10 cases after receiving the letter and doctors haven't been given more information.

The optometric association's Epstein, who is director of contact lens services at North Shore University Hospital on New York's Long Island, said the ``real issue'' is one of timing. About one in three infections now is in Florida, he said.

``The way the fungi exist, they favor warm, moist environments'' like Florida's, he said. ``Summer is coming. That's why it's important that we get a reasonably good understanding of the origin of this issue.''

Bausch & Lomb had no estimate for how long shipments may be halted, spokeswoman Meg Graham said April 10. Graham didn't return calls yesterday seeking additional information and didn't respond to a request for an interview with Zarrella, 56, the former General Motors Corp. executive vice president who has been at the Bausch & Lomb helm since 2001.

Confusion for Customers

``This created a lot of confusion'' for customers, said spokesman Michael Polzin of No. 1 drugstore chain Walgreen, based in Deerfield, Illinois. ``To try to alleviate that customer confusion, we are taking out all the ReNu line.''

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, is removing ReNu with MoistureLoc from its shelves and has stopped sales ``pending further tests'' by the CDC, said spokesman Kevin Gardner in an e-mailed statement.

No. 3 U.S. drugstore chain Rite Aid, based in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, will remove the Bausch & Lomb product from its stores in the next 24 hours, said spokeswoman Jody Cook in an interview. Jean Coutu Group Inc., which owns 1,853 Eckerd and Brooks stores, is also removing the product from stores, spokeswoman Helene Bisson said.

Visits to stores yesterday turned up considerable confusion. Even after Rite Aid, Walgreen and Safeway corporate headquarters said the product was being removed, ReNu with MoistureLoc was still on shelves at a Safeway store in downtown San Francisco last night while all but two canisters had been pulled from a Rite Aid store. Walgreen had removed the item from its downtown San Francisco stores as of last night. Store managers referred a reporter to headquarters for comment.

Tschiffely Pharmacy, near DuPont Circle in northwest Washington, D.C., hadn't pulled the lens solution, said chief pharmacist Paul Gambino in a telephone interview.

CVS Corp., the Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based second-biggest U.S. drugstore chain, will continue to sell the contact lens cleaner, said spokesman Mike DeAngelis.

At a CVS pharmacy on 14th Street Northwest in Washington, two blocks east of the White House, stocks were being pulled off shelves after a fax and e-mails from the company, said night shift supervisor Shadreck Tembo.

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Bausch & Lomb Contact Lens Cleanser Is Pulled Off U.S. Shelves

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