Experts fault Bausch & Lomb for delay in ReNu recall
Public relations experts have criticized Bausch & Lomb for its slow response time in reacting to an outbreak of fungal infections among users of its ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens solution. A report this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that it was investigating reports of Fusarium keratitis symptoms among users of MoistureLoc.
In response to the CDC announcement, Bausch & Lomb has stopped shipping ReNu with MoistureLoc and has issued a ReNu recall to U.S. retail stores. The company is offering to replace bottles of MoistureLoc with other contact lens solutions and has published an open letter detailing its cooperation with investigators.
While experts agree that Bausch & Lomb is taking all the right steps, many have questioned why it waited until now to act. The first reports linking ReNu with MoistureLoc to Fusarium keratitis symptoms began to emerge from Asia in November 2005. In the five months between the first infection reports and the ReNu recall, Bausch & Lomb received additional reports from Asia and the U.S. about Fusarium keratitis symptoms among MoistureLoc users, yet still took no action.
Many have contrasted the delay in Bausch & Lomb’s reaction to the crisis with other pharmaceutical companies, who moved swiftly to restore consumer confidence when problems arose with their products. “They needed to show that they are more concerned about their customers’ health than the bottom line,” says communications consultant Robert Marston.
Experts say that Bausch & Lomb may have severely damaged consumer confidence in its products—even those not implicated in the ReNu recall—by waiting so long to take action. “They had plenty of warning,” says George D. Sard, a crisis management expert. “They kept taking this series of temporizing measures and half-steps, and they’ve probably exacerbated concerns about the integrity of their brand.”