B&L asks retailers to remove ReNu from shelves

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Bausch & Lomb has asked U.S. retailers to remove ReNu with MoistureLoc from their shelves temporarily until the investigation into reports of fungal keratitis infections among contact lens wearers in the United States is concluded, the company announced late last week in a press release.

This comes on the heels of the company’s decision last week to suspend further shipments of the product in light of the fungal keratitis reports.

B&L initiated the market withdrawal to “eliminate any confusion among contact lens wearers about what to do while the investigation is ongoing,” the release said. The request to retailers would include only the lens solutions manufactured in the United States, B&L said, and does not affect any of its other contact lens solutions.

B&L also directed its request at consumers, placing ads in USA Today and other regional newspapers to explain the situation and offer alternatives.

“We find ourselves in a position where the safety of one of our products, ReNu with MoistureLoc, manufactured at our United States plant, is in question,” said Ron Zarrella, chairman and chief executive officer, in an open letter to consumers. “We’ve done a series of exhaustive tests on the product and a thorough inspection of the plant, and nothing has yet been found to show that ReNu with MoistureLoc contributed to these infections in any way. However, in the cases of infections reviewed to date, the majority of patients reported using ReNu with MoistureLoc manufactured at our U.S. factory.”