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LCA-Vision, B&L ink marketing pact
CINCINNATI — Bausch & Lomb (NYSE: BOL) and laser vision correction company LCA-Vision (NASDAQ: LCAV) have signed a marketing and branding deal in an effort to "better position” LCA-Vision, according to company executives. The deal makes Bausch & Lomb the primary manufacturer of lasers used at LCA-Vision facilities.
As part of this alliance, LCA-Vision has renamed its flagship Cincinnati facility "LasikPlus, a Bausch & Lomb Laser Center." LCA-Vision owns and operates 34 LasikPlus centers in the United States, Canada and Europe.
Under the agreement, patients who are not candidates for LASIK will be given rebates on Bausch & Lomb eye care products. According to LCA-Vision executives, the current non-candidacy rate is about 20%.
"Bausch & Lomb will help us increase awareness of the excellent clinical outcomes available through its laser technology, and we will be able to provide a benefit for consumers who do not meet our strict LASIK screening requirements with alternative trusted eye care solutions from Bausch & Lomb," said Tom Wilson, LCA-Vision's chief executive officer.
Patients who have undergone LASIK procedures at LCA-Vision's centers have primarily been treated with the Bausch & Lomb Technolas 217A, and "the risk of temporary night vision complications is nearly eliminated when using [that] laser," Mr. Wilson added.
Bausch & Lomb plans to expand its partnership with LasikPlus and will enter into similar brand partnerships with other eye care practitioners, said Don Mooney, president of Bausch & Lomb's cataract, vitreoretinal and refractive business in North America.