Bausch Health CEO: No Plans to Divest Bausch + Lomb

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International completed its name change to Bausch Health Companies. In an interview with Eyewire News to discuss the name change and direction of Bausch + Lomb, Bausch Health Chairman and CEO Joseph Papa said there are no plans to divest the eye care unit.

“Bausch + Lomb is an integral part of our business. We believe that legacy business is great, and more importantly, we think there’s a great future for us. First and foremost, it’s 56% of our business. Beyond that, we think we have the most integrated eye care company that exists in the United States, or in the world. You think about what we have at Bausch + Lomb. We have a contact lens business; we have the multipurpose solution business for contacts; we have a surgical business; we have a prescription ophthalmology business; and we have an over-the-counter business. So we think together, we have the most integrated eye care company and clearly one that we think we can invest behind in the future, and have a very significant opportunity for growth in 2018, 2019 and beyond,” Mr. Papa said.

“I don’t foresee us making a decision to divest Bausch + Lomb or any part of the business, because as I said, it is so integrated into what we believe is the future of our company,” Mr. Papa added.

With the official name change, Bausch Health Companies began trading under the “BHC” ticker on the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange, and the company launched a new corporate website: bauschhealth.com.

Because the company’s businesses and subsidiaries have strong brand equity, all entities that have separate established brands will continue to operate under the corporate umbrella using their existing names.

“Valeant Pharmaceuticals was a good name, but did not really reflect what we are becoming today. And by that I mean, we’re more than pharmaceuticals. We have contact lenses, medical devices, over-the-counter products,” Mr. Papa said.