Bausch & Lomb Sees Eye to Ay

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In a move that is likely to give Bausch & Lomb (NYSE: BOL) more than a black eye, the eyecare specialist is suspending production of its ReNu with MoistureLoc cleaning solution for soft contact lenses until an FDA study gets to the bottom of a recent outbreak of fungal keratitis infections.

Even though there is no proof that Bausch & Lomb's products are at the heart of the rare yet potentially serious cornea-infecting malady, the early results are not encouraging. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has reviewed 30 of the 109 reported cases. Of those, all but two came from contact lens wearers. Twenty-one of those 28 reviewed cases used ReNu, while another five augmented ReNu with other cleansing products. In other words, 26 of the 28 infected contact lens wearers were ReNu users.

Obviously, this is still too small a sample size to arrive at conclusive results. The problem here is that this is the kind of sting that will hurt even if Bausch & Lomb is ultimately vindicated. Patrons hearing the news may switch to competing products like Opti-Free by Alcon (NYSE: ACL). They may not come back to ReNu with open arms -- or open lens cases. They may even ditch their soft contact lenses and return to specs, something that won't come as good news to companies like Bausch & Lomb or Acuvue parent Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ). So it's no surprise that Bausch & Lomb's stock took a 9% hit in after-hours trading last night.

Again, let me emphasize that the company may yet be vindicated. The problem is that winning back customers isn't as easy as snapping your fingers once the FDA nods in approval. Even in some pretty severe cases -- like toxic shock syndrome for the tampon industry, the Tylenol scare, and Jack in the Box (NYSE: JBX) -- the brands bounced back. The healing process just takes a little time. You don't need to slap on clear specs to see that.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz doesn't wear corrective eyewear, though his wife has been a ReNu user for ages. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. The Fool has a disclosure policy. Rick is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.