Three lots of the solution produced in China and shipped to Japan were found to be contaminated, the company said, marking the second major recall of a contact lens solution this year. Bausch & Lomb had to recall its ReNu with MoistureLoc solution after it was linked to a fungal inflammation of the cornea known as keratitis. According to analysts, the infections leave Bausch & Lomb with up to $1 billion in potential liability.
"We had a handful of adverse-event complaints in China and one in Japan, which involved minor eye redness, irritation and blurred vision," said Senior Marketing Executive Chris Muller. Most of the recalled units were shipped to Asian countries, but Advanced Medical Optics will also be recalling 183,000 units in the United States even though no reactions had been reported there, Muller said.
A statement released by the company said, "Non-sterility of a contact lens solution may have serious health consequences, including eye infection and microbial keratitis," but added that the likelihood of harm was low.
However, Bank of America analyst David Maris noted that the recalls could boost sales of competitor Alcon's contact lens solutions.
"From the Bausch & Lomb example, we have seen that it is difficult to recover from market share losses," he said in a research note.
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