Recent studies on some multipurpose contact lens solutions have found that such preparations can cause eye damage. One such study was detailed last week at the 8th National Congress on Optometry and Opticianry held in New York.

Multipurpose contact lens solutions have caused serious eye problems for some users in the past. For example, in May 2006, Bausch & Lomb issued a worldwide recall of ReNu with MoistureLoc solution after it was linked to an outbreak of Fusarium keratitis, a potentially blinding eye infection. The Centers for Disease Control ultimately confirmed 180 cases of Fusarium keratitis in the U.S. that were associated with use of the recalled solution. (more…)

Lawsuits filed by people who claim they sustained non-Fusarium eye infections from Bausch & Lomb’s ReNu with MoistureLoc Contact Lens Solution suffered a setback last month when a New York state court judge issued a ruling that excluded the opinions of the non-Fusarium plaintiffs’ expert witnesses. But at a status conference held August 18, 2009, the same judge indicated that dismissal of the nearly 500 remaining cases filed in New York was not a foregone conclusion.

Bausch & Lomb pulled ReNu with MoistureLoc from Asian markets in February 2006, and did the same in the U.S. in April of that year, after it was linked to an outbreak of Fusarium keratitis, a potentially blinding eye infection. The company would ultimately issue a worldwide recall of ReNu with MoistureLoc on May 15, 2006. A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report confirmed 180 cases of Fusarium keratitis in the U.S. (more…)

We recently wrote that Bausch & Lomb, maker of ReNu with MoistureLoc, settled around 600 lawsuits involving the recalled contact lens solution. Now, Bausch & Lomb is focusing on ReNu marketing. According to a prior report in the Associated Press (AP), the settled ReNu with MoistureLoc claims have cost the company about $250 million, to date.

WXXI Center for Public Affairs reports that Bausch & Lomb announced a massive marketing and re-branding campaign that is expected to cost several million dollars and is geared to helping consumers understand its ReNu products. (more…)

Bausch & Lomb, the maker of ReNu with MoistureLoc, has settled around 600 lawsuits involving the recalled contact lens solution. According to a report in the Associated Press, the settled ReNu with MoistureLoc claims have so far cost the company around $250 million.

Bausch & Lomb pulled ReNu with MoistureLoc from Asian markets in February 2006, and did the same in the U.S. in April of that year, after it was linked to an outbreak of Fusarium Keratitis, a potentially blinding eye infection. The company would ultimately issue a worldwide recall of ReNu with MoistureLoc on May 15, 2006.

A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report on the outbreak found that those infected with Fusarium Keratitis were 20 time more likely to have used the ReNu with MoistureLoc solution. The CDC report determined that bad hygiene habits among users were not to blame for the infections, but that the contact lens solution appeared to have poor disinfectant qualities. The CDC ultimately confirmed 180 cases of Fusarium Keratitis in the U.S. According to the Associated Press, at least 60 more Americans needed vision-saving corneal transplants.

No one is exactly sure why ReNu with MoistureLoc turned out to be defective. As we reported last November, a study conducted by researchers at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio found that ReNu with MoistureLoc loses much of its ability to fight fungal contamination when exposed to high temperatures for a long period of time.

As we reported previously, ReNu with MoistureLoc contained a microbial agent not found in other contact lens solutions. According to the Associated Press, it also contained some novel moisturizing agents. Some researchers have theorized that the disinfectant absorbed into lenses at unusually high rates and the moisturizing agents created a biofilm (a cluster of microbes held together by a glue-like matrix) that shielded and even fostered growth of the fungus to infectious levels, the Associated Press said.

Other multipurpose contact lens solutions have also been linked to eye infection outbreaks. For example, we’ve previously reported that in 2007 at least 21 cases of infections involving the water-borne acanthamoeba parasite were linked to Advanced Medical Optics (AMO) Complete MoisturePlus solution, prompting the Santa Ana, California-based company to recall the product. According to the Associated Press, 170 lawsuits are pending against AMO as a result of that outbreak.

Such incidents have raised concerns about the overall safety of multipurpose contact lens solution, which according to the Associated Press, have virtually replaced older lens cleansing systems since coming on the market over a decade ago. As we reported last June, a Food & Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel recommended that contact lens solutions be subjected to more stringent testing protocols, and the agency has been working on such standards.

But there are worries that enough still isn’t being done to protect contact lens wearers from defective solutions like ReNu with MoistureLoc. At least one expert interviewed by the Associated Press expressed concerns that the confidential nature of the ReNu with MoistureLoc settlements is preventing facts about the catastrophe – including questions of blame and clinical findings about the Fusarium Keratitis outbreak – from seeing the light of day. But the doctor was hopeful that some of the other lawsuits still to be settled will end up at trial, thus making such facts part of the public record.

According to the Associated Press, while Bausch & Lomb has settled most Fusarium Keratitis cases, it still has several dozen pending. And the company says it plans to defend at least 500 filed by people who claim to have suffered a variety of other eye infections because of ReNu. A pretrial hearing is scheduled this week in New York to decide if there’s a reliable scientific basis for arguing that a link between ReNu and these other infections exists, the Associated Press said.

ReNu with MoistureLoc loses much of its ability to fight fungal contamination when exposed to high temperatures for a long period of time, according to a new study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology.  ReNu with MoistureLoc was recalled by Bausch & Lomb in 2006, after it was implicated in massive outbreak of the potentially-blinding  fungal infection, Fusarium Keratitis.  Following the ReNu with MoistureLoc recall, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) cited the company’s Greenville, S.C. plant for inadequate temperature control in the production, storage and transport of the contact lens solution.

Bausch & Lomb pulled ReNu with MoistureLoc from Asian markets in February 2006, and did the same in the U.S. in April, before finally issuing a worldwide recall on May 15, 2006. A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report found that those infected with Fusarium Keratitis were 20 time more likely to have used the ReNu with MoistureLoc solution. The CDC report determined that bad hygiene habits among users were not to blame for the infections, but that the contact lens solution appeared to have poor disinfectant qualities. (more…)

In the past several years, contact lens solutions, including ReNu with MoistureLoc and Advanced Medical Optics Complete MoisturePlus, have been linked to potentially blinding eye infections. Now, a group of Food & Drug Administration (FDA) advisors has recommended that contact lens solutions be subjected to more stringent testing to insure their safety. The panel also recommended that stronger safety warnings be added to the labels of multi-purpose contact lens solutions so that users can know how to avoid contaminating the products.

Contact lens solutions have been subjected to several recalls because of contamination problems that resulted in some users developing serious eye infections. In 2006, Bausch & Lomb issued a worldwide recall of ReNu with MoistureLoc Contact Lens Solution after it was linked to hundreds of cases of Fusarium Keratitis, a rare eye infection that has the potential to cause blindness. Following an investigation, the Centers for Disease Control determined that bad hygiene habits among users were not to blame for the infections, but that the contact lens solution appeared to have poor disinfectant qualities. (more…)

Contact lens solutions have been slated for a Food & Drug Administration (FDA) safety review.  The FDA decided to embark on the review after some popular brands of contact lens solutions – including Renu with MoistureLoc – were linked to potentially blinding infections.

An FDA advisory pane is scheduled to meet on June 10 to discuss safety issues surrounding contact lens solutions.  The panel will recommend to the agency whether the solutions should be subjected to new testing methods, or should bear new safety labeling.  The FDA is not bound to follow the recommendations of its advisory panels, but does so in most cases.  (more…)

Renu with MoistureLoc, the Bausch & Lomb contact lens solution that was responsible for a massive outbreak of Fusarium Keratitis in 2006, was never adequately tested to insure that it was resistant to microbial contamination.   According to a new study conducted by researchers at the Center for Medical Mycology at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, the strain of Fusarium used by Bausch & Lomb to test Renu with MoistureLoc was rare and outdated, making tests with the strain a poor indicator of the contact lens solution’s effectiveness.

In 2006, Bausch & Lomb issued a worldwide recall of Renu with MoistureLoc Contact Lens Solution after it was linked to hundreds of cases of Fusarium Keratitis, a rare eye infection that has the potential to cause blindness. Following an investigation, the Centers for Disease Control  determined that bad hygiene habits among users were not to blame for the infections, but that the contact lens solution appeared to have poor disinfectant qualities. (more…)

The Bausch & Lomb CEO who oversaw the Renu with MoistureLoc recall debacle has stepped down.  Last year, under Ronald Zarella, who served as Bausch & Lomb CEO since 2001, the company was sold to private equity firm Warburg Pincus of New York City. The sale ended Bausch & Lomb’s almost 70-year run as a publicly traded company.

According to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Zarrella will be replaced by Gerald M. Ostrov, who most recently was group chairman of Johnson & Johnson’s Worldwide Vision Care division. Ostrov left that position in 2006. (more…)

Bausch & Lomb, the maker of recalled ReNu with MoistureLoc Contact Lens Solution, announced that it would be eliminating 250 jobs at one of its plants in the United Kingdom. The job cuts are just the latest bit of bad news for Bausch & Lomb, which has never fully recovered from the 2006 ReNu with MoistureLoc recall.

In 2006, Bausch & Lomb’s ReNu with MoistureLoc Contact Lens Solution was linked to Fusarium Keratitis, a rare eye infection that has the potential to cause blindness. The company pulled ReNu with MoistureLoc from Asian markets in February 2006, and did the same in the U.S. in April, before finally issuing a worldwide recall on May 15, 2006. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) determined that bad hygiene habits among users were not to blame for the infections, but that the contact lens solution appeared to have poor disinfectant qualities. As of June 30, 2006, the CDC had confirmed 164 cases of Fusarium Keratitis. The same report said that those infected with Fusarium Keratitis were 20 time more likely to have used the ReNu with MoistureLoc solution.

(more…)