Bausch + Lomb has teamed up with the Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF) to raise awareness of the second leading cause of blindness worldwide. Sponsored by the drugmaker, the nonprofit GRF is running the “Faces of Glaucoma” campaign to share patient stories and show the range of people with glaucoma.
In a now annual tradition, Bausch + Lomb and the GRF marked the start of the new year by putting out a statement about their plans for January, which is Glaucoma Awareness Month. The latest campaign sees the drugmaker, which sells the glaucoma medicine Vyzulta, sponsor a push to show how the disease can affect anyone, regardless of their background, age or gender.
The GRF began January by posting a photo and brief history of Trinh Green on its socials. The nonprofit interviewed Green in 2019 and reused an excerpt from the conversation to kick off its Faces of Glaucoma campaign. Green was diagnosed with glaucoma aged 21 years and told she would be blind by the age of 50. Instead, Green has preserved most of her vision while having children and becoming a physician.
Green is one of several people featured on the Faces of Glaucoma website. The GRF has also included photos of Jaxon Hill, who was diagnosed with primary congenital glaucoma as an infant, and the artist Patricia Caulfield, who the GRF has profiled in the past.
As well as sharing patient stories, Bausch + Lomb and the GRF plan to provide educational resources to help individuals manage their eye health. The materials include a quiz for assessing glaucoma risk, tips about preventative care and a discussion of the importance of regular eye tests. Early diagnosis, and by extension early treatment, can help prevent the progression of the disease.
Bausch + Lomb’s sponsorship of the campaign follows a big quarter for its glaucoma drug. In the third quarter, sales of Vyzulta increased 54% on a constant currency basis, supported by a 19% rise in total prescriptions in the U.S.