Bausch & Lomb Receives Exclusive Patent Rights to The National Eye Institute's AREDS Formula Used in Ocuvite PreserVision.

Business Editors/Legal Writers/Health/Medical Writers

ROCHESTER, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 9, 2003

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today granted a patent for the unique high-potency antioxidant and mineral formula in Bausch & Lomb's Ocuvite(R) PreserVision(TM), the only dietary supplement demonstrated to preserve eye health and vision in the National Eye Institute's landmark Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS).

Bausch & Lomb (NYSE:BOL), which co-developed the formula with the NEI and which supplied the tablets used in the 10-year ARED study, holds the exclusive worldwide patent rights to the AREDS formula under a license agreement with the National Institutes of Health.

Bausch & Lomb made the AREDS formulation available to consumers as Ocuvite PreserVision dietary supplements after the results of the ARED study were released in October 2001. That study clinically proved, for the first time, that this specific formulation of vitamin A (as beta-carotene), vitamins C and E, and minerals zinc and copper slows the progression of age-related macular degeneration and its associated vision loss among people most at risk. Age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of legal blindness in people over age 55, affects more than 10 million adults in the U.S.

Bausch & Lomb Ocuvite PreserVision is the No. 1 eye vitamin recommended by vitreoretinal specialists, and is the No. 1 product in the U.S. eye vitamin market, according to ACNielsen. Bausch & Lomb, with its Ocuvite line of ocular nutritional supplements, is the leader in U.S. eye vitamins, with a more than 70-percent share of the market.

To protect its significant investment in ocular nutritional research and development and its patent rights, Bausch & Lomb today filed lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Rochester against four manufacturers or distributors of eye vitamins that the Company believes infringe its patent rights: Alcon Laboratories, Inc.; General Nutrition Companies, Inc.; Leiner Health Products, Inc.; and Rexall Sundown, Inc.

Bausch & Lomb is the eye health company, dedicated to perfecting vision and enhancing life for consumers around the world. Its core businesses include soft and rigid gas permeable contact lenses and lens care products, and ophthalmic surgical and pharmaceutical products. The Bausch & Lomb name is one of the best known and most respected healthcare brands in the world. Celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2003, the Company is headquartered in Rochester, New York. Bausch & Lomb's 2002 revenues were $1.8 billion; it employs approximately 11,500 people worldwide and its products are available in more than 100 countries. More information about the Company can be found on the Bausch & Lomb Web site at www.bausch.com. Copyright Bausch & Lomb.