Bausch & Lomb, the world's leading maker of solutions used to care for contact lenses, filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Rochester, New York, against Alcon Laboratories Inc, for false and misleading advertising and promotional claims pertaining to Alcon's Opti-Free Express Multi-Purpose Disinfecting Solution. The complaint seeks the immediate withdrawal of the promotional materials from the marketplace, which contain false comparisons to competitive products, including one from Bausch & Lomb.

"In promoting their product, Alcon makes false and misleading performance comparisons to Bausch & Lomb's No.1 doctor-recommended, market-leading ReNu MultiPlus Solution," said James F. Milton, president - Bausch & Lomb North American Vision Care. "Also, while hyping the fact that their new product claim allows some patients to clean and disinfect contact lenses without rubbing them, Alcon underplays or fails to mention new additional cleaning requirements."

Bausch & Lomb's complaint further asserts that there is no scientific data to support Alcon's comparisons to the market leader, ReNu MultiPlus Solution.

Alcon's product is not a new formulation. Opti-Free Express has been marketed in the U.S. since 1998. In September of this year, the Food and Drug Administration gave Alcon clearance to add the "no-rub" claim to product packaging. This new claim only applies to lenses that are worn for 30 days or less.

Patients who wear the same lenses for more than 30 days cannot skip the rubbing step of the cleaning regimen. Additionally, if a patient chooses not to rub the lenses during the cleaning process, an extra rinse is required before the lens is placed in the eye.