NEW YORK, July 21, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- The American law firms of de la O, Marko, Magolnick & Leyton, P.A. and Parker & Waichman, LLP announce they have been retained by citizens of Asia who have suffered severe damage to their eyes as a result of using Bausch & Lomb's (NYSE:BOL) ReNu with MoistureLoc(r) brand contact lens solution. de la O, Marko, Magolnick & Leyton and Parker & Waichman have been retained by many ReNu victims in the United States and abroad, all of whom have suffered severe injuries due to Bausch & Lomb's contact lens solution, including injuries requiring corneal transplant surgery and resulting in permanent vision loss.
One of the Asian clients, Teck-Meng Yong, was one of the first ReNu victims in Singapore to undergo a corneal transplant as a result of severe damage caused by the Fusarium fungus he contracted while using Bausch & Lomb's ReNu with MoistureLoc(r) brand contact lens solution. Another client from Asia is 19 year old Jermaine Tan, also from Singapore. In January of this year, Mr. Tan also underwent a corneal transplant as a result of severe damage caused by the Fusarium fungus contracted while using ReNu with MoistureLoc(r). Joel Magolnick, a partner at de la O, Marko, Magolnick & Leyton, stated, "According to Jermaine's doctors, the Fusarium fungus had almost eaten all the way through the cornea. One more day and it could have been too late. If Jermaine had not been treated in time, doctors would have had to remove his entire eye." Jermaine Tan has only recovered about 60 percent of the sight in his left eye, and his vision remains impaired.
Fungal keratitis is a severe infection of the cornea. Fusarium keratitis, one type of fungal keratitis, is often accompanied by symptoms of eye pain/discomfort, excessive watering or discharge from the infected eye, decrease in vision and increased sensitivity to light. Risk factors for infection usually include trauma (generally with plant material), chronic ocular surface diseases, immunodeficiencies and, very rarely, contact lens use. An estimated 30 million persons in the United States wear soft contact lenses; the annual incidence of microbial keratitis is estimated to be 4-21 per 10,000 soft contact lens users. Fungal keratitis is a condition more prevalent in warm climates. First-line treatment includes topical and oral antifungal medications; patients who do not respond to medical treatment usually require surgical intervention, including corneal transplantation. These infections are not transmitted from person to person. If not timely treated, Fusarium keratitis may lead to complete destruction of the cornea and loss of the eye itself.
In February 2006, Bausch & Lomb ceased sales of all ReNu(r) solutions in Singapore and Hong Kong after many users of ReNu with MoistureLoc(r) were diagnosed with Fusarium Keratitis. As of May 2006, researchers in Singapore had found 80 cases of Fusarium keratitis among contact lens wearers, nearly all of whom used ReNu with MoistureLoc(r).
On May 15, 2006, Bausch & Lomb announced that it was permanently removing ReNu with MoistureLoc(r) from the market worldwide. That same day, the FDA issued a press release stating: "Based on this scientific and epidemiological data suggesting that ReNu with MoistureLoc may increase susceptibility to Fusarium, Bausch & Lomb has decided to permanently remove the ReNu with MoistureLoc product worldwide." The recall followed Bausch & Lomb's conclusion that the product's formula may increase the risk of fungal eye infections in certain situations. Bausch & Lomb, Inc. and the FDA both acknowledged there is a problem in the chemical properties of ReNu with MoistureLoc after testing confirmed that the solution allows a polymer film to form around the Fusarium fungus, preventing the disinfectant in the product from killing the fungus.
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