The dangers of contact lenses.

Leading the News: Eye-care company recalls contact-lens solution

A Wall Street Journal News Roundup

211 words

22 November 2006

The Wall Street Journal Asia

2

English

(c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. 

Advanced Medical Optics Inc. voluntarily recalled 2.9 million units of its 12-ounce Complete MoisturePLUS contact-lens solution after three lots sold in Japan were found to have bacterial contamination.

The Santa Ana, California, eye-care company said it stopped all manufacturing at its Chinese facility.

The recall comes after rival Bausch & Lomb Inc. suspended sales of MoistureLoc contact-lens solution in Singapore and Hong Kong in February and the U.S. in April. It initiated a global recall in May. Bausch later acknowledged the solution was the potential "root cause" of increased risk of a rare fungal infection.

Advanced Medical Optics said charges and costs to complete its recall are expected to be $35 million to $40 million in 2006 and 2007. The company also expects the recall to reduce revenue for the remainder of 2006 and 2007 by a total of $40 million to $45 million, as a result of expected product returns, supply shortages and temporarily lost market share.

In midday New York Stock Exchange trading, Advanced Medical Optics was at $36.01, down 8.3%.