CEO who oversaw ReNu recall plans to step down

Wednesday, 23 January 2008

The chairman and CEO of Bausch & Lomb says that he will step down from his position with the company in March. Ronald Zarrella had been with Bausch & Lomb since 2001, including during the company’s recall of its ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens solution. Although Zarrella oversaw Bausch & Lomb’s sale in 2007 to a private equity firm, ending the company’s 70 year run as a publicly traded company, his tenure will largely be remembered for the ReNu recall. In May 2006, Bausch & Lomb was forced to recall ReNu with MoistureLoc after it was linked to an outbreak of the fungal eye infection Fusarium keratitis. Patients who suffered Fusarium keratitis infections reported experiencing blurred vision, red, inflamed eyes, light sensitivity, severe eye pain and other symptoms. Many patients who developed these ReNu side effects were forced to undergo a cornea transplant as a result of the damage to their eyes. Hundreds of patients who were injured after experiencing a Fusarium keratitis infection have contacted an attorney about filing a ReNu lawsuit.