Bausch & Lomb stops ReNu shipments

Bausch & Lomb has stopped shipping ReNu brand contact lens solution after reports of serious eye infection.

Bausch & Lomb has stopped shipping its ReNu brand contact lens solution after a number of people using the product reported getting a serious eye infection, the US Food and Drug Administration said on Monday.

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The FDA said that 109 cases of the rare but serious infection that may cause loss of vision had been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 17 US states. But the agency said during a conference call that it was not aware of a link between the infection and specific products.

Bausch & Lomb's stock was halted in afterhours trading on Monday after falling more than 9 per cent to $52.12 on Inet electronic brokerage after the news. The stock had closed at $57.44 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The FDA said it had completed cases on 30 reports. Of those, 28 people wore soft contact lenses and 26 of them reported using Bausch & Lomb's ReNu brand in the month before the infection.

The infection, caused by the Fusarium fungus, may lead to vision loss requiring corneal transplants, the FDA said.

The FDA and CDC are investigating the reported cases.