Bausch + Lomb re-ups 'Faces of Glaucoma' campaign to raise awareness of the eye disease

For the second year in a row, Bausch + Lomb has joined with the Glaucoma Research Foundation to launch the “Faces of Glaucoma” campaign during January’s Glaucoma Awareness Month.

As with its first iteration last year, the revamped campaign is aimed at showing how the eye disease can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender or race. It’ll do so by sharing the stories of diverse glaucoma patients on the Faces of Glaucoma website, while also providing educational resources about prevention and treatment.

“While glaucoma is often thought of as an older person’s disease, it’s important to understand that it can impact anyone, regardless of race, age or gender. This year we build on our previous efforts by highlighting a new group of diverse patient stories to bring to life the many faces of glaucoma,” Thomas Brunner, president and CEO of the GRF, said in a Tuesday announcement of the campaign’s relaunch.

Ongoing awareness-raising efforts are still needed, because as many as 50% of people with glaucoma are unaware they have the disease, which is the second leading cause of blindness globally, Andrew Stewart, Bausch + Lomb’s president of global pharmaceuticals and international consumer, noted in the release.

Alongside the campaign, Bausch + Lomb has also kicked off a fundraising challenge through which it has pledged to match up to $20,000, with all money raised going toward the GRF’s research into a cure for glaucoma. This marks the fourth such annual challenge backed by the eye health giant, per the announcement.

Bausch + Lomb, which recently confirmed it’s exploring the possibility of a sale, is the maker of several glaucoma treatments, including Vyzulta and Istalol.

Before beginning the Faces of Glaucoma campaign last year, Bausch + Lomb had already teamed up with the GRF for a handful of glaucoma-focused initiatives in prior awareness months.

In January 2022, the company tapped the GRF’s patient network to produce a survey about life with glaucoma and the common treatment side effect hyperemia. A year later, the duo teamed up again to launch a campaign dubbed “Screen, Protect, Cure” to improve education and awareness around glaucoma, complete with a $20,000 fundraising challenge—the direct predecessor of the now-annual Faces of Glaucoma push.