Bausch & Lomb Acquires License to New PAI-LASIK Eye Surgery Technology.

Business Editors and Health/Medical Writers

DALLAS--(BW HealthWire)--Oct. 22, 2000

New Technology Could Potentially Make Laser Vision Correction Reversible and Facilitate Effective Laser Correction of Higher Degrees

of Myopia

Surgeons Would be Able to Combine New Technology With Bausch & Lomb's Integrated Diagnostics System to Create Personalized Vision Correction

Bausch & Lomb (NYSE:BOL), the global eye-care company with the broadest portfolio of innovative refractive surgery products, is partnering with the prolific inventor and key patent holder of the LASIK (Laser in Situ Keratomileusis) eye surgery method, to develop technology that will create the next generation of the very popular and effective laser vision correction surgery procedure.

The new surgical procedure, PAI-LASIK(TM), has the potential to extend the range of nearsightedness correctable by LASIK and, if necessary, can for the first time make the LASIK procedure reversible.

Bausch & Lomb has obtained exclusive development and marketing rights for this novel technology called photoablative inlay (PAI), from its inventor, world-renowned ophthalmic surgeon Gholam A. Peyman, M.D., of Tulane University Medical School in New Orleans, and Stromax Technologies LLC, a privately held company based in Pittsboro, N.C.

The technology consists of a corneal inlay that is designed to shape the human cornea during laser vision correction surgery.

The PAI-LASIK surgical procedure uses the corneal inlay in conjunction with LASIK. In this procedure, a surgeon would make a corneal flap with a microkeratome and then place the inlay on the corneal bed.

Next, Bausch & Lomb's Technolas(R) 217 Excimer Laser would be used to ablate (shape by cutting) the inlay, rather than the patient's corneal tissue, as is common with current LASIK, to create the intended correction.

That ablation could be applied based on information obtained from Bausch & Lomb's integrated diagnostic system, which identifies the abnormalities throughout the patient's eye and then creates a personalized laser treatment.

The system consists of the Orbscan II, a multidimensional diagnostic system that enables eye surgeons to map both the anterior and posterior surface of the cornea, and the Zywave aberrometer, wavefront technology that directs a beam of light into the eye that is then reflected off the retina to identify aberrations.

"There would be several potential advantages to using this surgical approach," said Peyman. "First, such a new procedure would preserve the patient's corneal tissue, thereby reducing the risk of creating a cornea that's too thin and, therefore, prone to weakening, leading to unstable refractive results.

"With traditional LASIK for patients who are highly myopic, you must ablate a significant amount of corneal tissue in order to achieve the intended correction.

"Second, should a patient not be satisfied with the initial surgical result or should the patient's eyesight change in the years following LASIK surgery, the original inlay potentially could be replaced with a new inlay that is then custom ablated to correct the new refractive error," concluded Peyman.

Also according to Peyman, in addition to correcting myopia, PAI-LASIK potentially could be used to correct hyperopia and astigmatism.

"We are excited about our partnership with Dr. Peyman and Stromax Technologies," said Gary M. Aron, Bausch & Lomb corporate vice president and vice president of global research, development and engineering.

"PAI-LASIK represents a tremendous advance in refractive surgery that has the potential to help millions more people see the wonders of the world without the aid of spectacles or contact lenses; and our pursuit of this development demonstrates Bausch & Lomb's commitment to leading the global market with innovative refractive surgical solutions."

Bausch & Lomb will work with Peyman and Stromax throughout the product development process. The development team's first assignment is to identify the best corneal inlay material that will produce optimal results. Once a material is selected, clinical studies will begin in the United States and abroad. Financial terms of the agreement are not being disclosed.

Bausch & Lomb Inc. is the preeminent global technology-based health care company for the eye, dedicated to helping consumers see, look and feel better through innovative technology and design. Its core businesses include soft and rigid gas permeable contact lenses, lens-care products, ophthalmic surgical and pharmaceutical products.

The company is advantaged with some of the most respected brands in the world starting with its name, Bausch & Lomb(R), and including SofLens(TM), PureVision(TM), Boston(R), ReNu(R), Storz(R) and Technolas(TM).

Founded in 1853 in Rochester, N.Y., where it continues to have its headquarters, the company has annual revenues of approximately $2 billion and employs approximately 14,000 people in more than 50 countries. Bausch & Lomb products are available in more than 100 countries around the world.

Additional information about the company can be found on Bausch & Lomb's Worldwide Web site at http://www.bausch.com.

This news release contains, among other things, certain statements of a forward-looking nature relating to future events or the future business performance of Bausch & Lomb. Such statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties including those concerning economic conditions, currency exchange rates, product development and introduction, the financial well-being of key customers, the successful execution of marketing strategies, the continued successful implementation of the restructuring effort in reducing costs and expenses of manufacturing processes and administrative functions, as well as the risk factors listed from time to time in the company's SEC filings, including but not limited to the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 24, 2000.