US court ruling allows contact lens retailers to drop prices

A federal appeals court ruling in the US could have major ramifications for the country’s $4bn contact lens market after giving online discount contact lens retailers the green light to drop prices while manufacturers are locked in a legal battle to impose minimum prices on their products.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver handed down the judgement as Alcon Laboratories, Johnson & Johnson and Bausch+Lomb remained at loggerheads with the state of Utah over the new legislation which banned contact lens price fixing.

According to a report in the Winnipeg Free Press, the manufacturers believed that the law allowed discount sellers to violate interstate commerce regulations and circumvent industry price standards.