Bausch + Lomb News

Bausch + Lomb Announces New Data from the NEI 10-Year Follow-on Study Results of the Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2), Celebrates 50 Years of Contact Lens Innovation, and More

Since the early 1990’s, Bausch + Lomb has collaborated with researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI) in support of the AREDS and AREDS2 (Age-Related Eye Disease Studies) trials. Following 20 years of clinical evidence from these studies, the NEI recently presented new data at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology annual meeting in early May, which reaffirms the clinical outcomes of the AREDS2 study. Based on this new data, the NEI continues to recommend a specific nutrient formula to help reduce the risk of progression in patients with moderate to advanced Age-Related Macular Degeneration.¹ That formula is currently found in Bausch + Lomb PreserVision® AREDS 2 Formula eye vitamins, which was provided to participants in the last five years of the follow-on study.

Moving to the company’s Vision Care portfolio, 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of when Bausch + Lomb received approval by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to commercialize the first mass-produced soft contact lens in the United States. This innovation established an entirely new category for the eye care industry and completely redefined the contact lens market by creating more access and availability for those who wear corrective lenses. Tens of thousands of eye care professionals have prescribed lenses to millions of patients since then. Bausch + Lomb has also continued to bring to market innovative products to broaden the available soft contact lens options that fulfill patient’s needs.

These options include the company’s latest contact lens innovation, Bausch + Lomb INFUSE® silicone hydrogel daily disposables, which were recently honored with an American Business Award (Stevie) in the Product Management & New Product category. The lens is the only silicone hydrogel daily disposable with a next-generation material infused with ProBalance Technology™ to help maintain ocular surface homeostasis to aid in minimizing symptoms of contact lens dryness, which is experienced by approximately a third of the 45 million lens wearers in the United States.^1,2,3 Built with the company’s innovative ProBalance Technology™, these lenses provide exceptional patient comfort and maintain 96% of their moisture for a full 16 hours.

In Consumer Health Care, Bausch + Lomb launched Alaway® Preservative Free (ketotifen fumarate ophthalmic solution 0.035%) antihistamine eye drops in early Spring. Alaway is the first and only OTC preservative-free antihistamine eye itch relief drop approved by the FDA to temporarily relieve eye itch due to pollen, ragweed, grass, animal hair and dander – one of the eye symptoms that affects approximately 80% of people with allergies.⁴

Finally, from the Bausch + Lomb pharmaceuticals pipeline, the company announced statistically significant topline data from the GOBI trial, the first Phase 3 trial evaluating the investigational drug NOV03 (perfluorohexyloctane), a potential first-in-class eye drop with a novel mechanism of action to treat the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease (DED) associated with meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). The GOBI trial met both of its co-primary endpoints and all of its secondary endpoints. There is currently no FDA approved pharmaceutical therapy available in the U.S. for the treatment of DED associated with MGD.

For more information, visit https://www.bausch.com/our-company/recent-news.

^{1. The 2019 Study of the U.S. Consumer Contact Lens Market, Multi-Sponsor Surveys Inc. January 2020.}

^{2.  American Optometric Association. https://www.aoa.org/patients-and-public/caring-for-your-vision/contact-lenses/facts-and-stats}

^{3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/contactlenses/fast-facts.html#:~:text=An%20estimated%2045%20million%20people,is%2031%20years%20old%202}

^{4. The 2018 U.S. Study of Allergies, Multi-sponsor Surveys, Inc. February 2018.}