Bausch & Lomb, maker of the recalled Renu with MoistureLoc contact lens solution, is trying to force several insurance companies to help it pay for more than 1,000 lawsuits filed against the company over the tainted product. That insurance battle is just one example of how the Renu with MoistureLoc recall is still causing problems for the company. Nearly two years later, Bausch & Lomb is still facing serious legal and financial ramifications of the Renu with MoistureLoc disaster.
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. In October of 2006, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning letter to Bausch & Lomb, criticizing the company for not reporting nearly three dozen infections linked to Renu with MoistureLoc that occurred before sales of the product were suspended. The letter also cited the company for numerous violations found during a May inspection of its Greenville, South Carolina manufacturing plant.
