Bausch & Lomb Inc. recalled ReNu with MoistureLoc over concerns the contact lens solution might be linked to a dangerous fungal infection that can cause blindness.
The company in April 2006 asked retailers to remove ReNu with MoistureLoc from store shelves pending an investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention into reports of Fusarium keratitis infections. By May, the CDC confirmed 122 cases of Fusarium keratitis and Bausch & Lomb announced a permanent worldwide recall of the product. Several reports said the number of cases was higher and that the infections may not be limited to ReNu with MoistureLoc but also other Bausch & Lomb products.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Bausch & Lomb delayed eporting to the federal agency 35 infection cases in Singapore that were linked to ReNu with MoistureLoc. The FDA said the company also failed to follow procedures to prevent contamination at a factory where the lens cleaner was made.
Symptoms of the Fusarium infection can include pain or redness, blurry vision, increased sensitivity to light and excessive discharge from the eyes. The infection is normally treated with eye drops over two to three months but, left untreated, Fusarium can cause permanent eye injury.
A number of major retailing chains – including Wal-Mart, Walgreens and CVS – removed ReNu with MoistureLoc from store shelves days before Bausch & Lomb asked all stores to remove the product and advised consumers to discontinue its use and temporarily switch to another lens care solution.
More than 35 million Americans now wear contact lenses. MoistureLoc was first sold in late 2004 and had U.S. sales of $45 million the following year.
Kline & Specter PC, a Philadelphia-based law firm with some 35 attorneys, several of whom are also highly skilled doctors, handled ReNu cases and has had success litigating product liability and prescription drug lawsuits in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and nationwide. We are no longer accepting ReNu cases.
News
- CBS 3 examines the problems with ReNu and features the cases of Lisa Dodson and Lisa Lavella, sufferers represented by attorney Tom Kline. (Full story)
- The New York Times
- The Washington Post