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Bausch + Lomb Corporation (BLCO) Risk Analysis
Risk Overview Q2, 2026
Risk Change Over Time
- Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 1We have limited history of operating as an independent company, and our historical financial information prior to the B+L IPO is not necessarily representative of the results that we would have achieved as an independent or standalone company and may not be a reliable indicator of our future results.
Our historical financial information, for periods prior to the B+L IPO, is not necessarily indicative of our future results of operations, financial condition or cash flows, nor does it reflect what our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows would have been as an independent public company during the periods presented. In particular, such historical financial information included in this Form 10-K is not necessarily indicative of our future results of operations, financial condition or cash flows primarily because of the following factors, among others: - Prior to the B+L IPO, our business had been operated by BHC as part of its broader corporate organization, rather than as an independent company; BHC or one of its affiliates provided support for various corporate functions for us, such as information technology, compensation and benefits, human resources, engineering, finance and internal audit. - Our historical financial results prior to the B+L IPO reflect the direct, indirect and allocated costs for such services historically provided by BHC. Following the B+L IPO, BHC continued to provide some of these services to us on a transitional basis, pursuant to a transition services agreement that we entered into with BHC in connection with the Separation. Our historical financial information does not reflect our obligations under the various transitional and other agreements we entered into with BHC in connection with the Separation. As these transitional services expire or are terminated (as most now have), we will need to perform these functions ourselves or hire third parties to perform these functions on our behalf, and these costs may differ significantly from the comparable expenses we have incurred in the past. - Prior to the B+L IPO, our working capital requirements and capital expenditures historically were satisfied as part of BHC's corporate-wide cash management and centralized funding programs, and our cost of debt and other capital may significantly differ from the historical amounts reflected in our historical financial statements. - Prior to the B+L IPO, our business was integrated with that of BHC and we benefited from BHC's size and scale in costs, employees and vendor and customer relationships. Thus, costs we incur as an independent company may significantly exceed comparable costs we incurred as part of BHC. - As a standalone public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, or the Dodd-Frank Act, applicable Canadian securities laws and the regulations of the NYSE and the TSX. Such requirements have increased our legal, accounting and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming and costly and could be burdensome on our personnel, systems and resources. We have devoted and expect to continue to devote significant resources to address these public company-associated requirements, including compliance programs and investor relations, as well as our financial reporting obligations. Complying with these rules and regulations has and will substantially increase our legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time-consuming and costly. - In addition, as a public company, our management is required to conduct an annual evaluation of our internal controls over financial reporting and include a report of management on our internal controls in our annual reports on Form 10-K. In addition, we are required to have our independent registered public accounting firm attest to the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. If we are unable to conclude that we have effective internal controls over financial reporting, or if our registered public accounting firm is unable to provide us with an attestation and an unqualified report as to the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting, investors could lose confidence in the reliability of our financial statements, which could result in a decrease in the value of our common shares and/or debt securities. Moreover, failure to accurately report our financial performance on a timely basis could also jeopardize our continued listing on the NYSE, the TSX or any other exchange on which our common shares may be listed. Delisting of our common shares on any exchange would reduce the liquidity of the market for our common shares, which would reduce the price of and increase the volatility of the market price of our common shares.
Risk Highlights Q2, 2026
Risk Word Cloud
Risk Factors Full Breakdown - Total Risks 53
- Regulation - Risk 1Our by-laws designate specific courts in Canada and the federal district courts of the United States as the exclusive forum for certain litigation that may be initiated by our shareholders, which could limit our shareholders' ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us.
Pursuant to our by-laws, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Supreme Court of British Columbia and the appellate courts therefrom shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for: (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; (ii) any action or proceeding asserting a claim of breach of fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee of ours to us; (iii) any action or proceeding asserting a claim arising out of any provision of the CBCA or our by-laws (as they may be amended from time to time); or (iv) any action or proceeding asserting a claim otherwise related to the relationships among the Company, its affiliates and their respective shareholders, directors and/or officers, other than claims related to the business carried on by the Company or such affiliates (such provision, the "Canadian Forum Provision"). The Canadian Forum Provision will not apply to any causes of action arising under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or other federal securities laws of the United States for which there is exclusive federal or concurrent federal and state jurisdiction. Additionally, our by-laws further provide that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the sole and exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act (such provision, the "U.S. Federal Forum Provision"). In addition, our by-laws provide that any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in our share capital is deemed to have notice of and consented to the Canadian Forum Provision and the U.S. Federal Forum Provision; provided, however, that shareholders cannot and will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. The Canadian Forum Provision and the U.S. Federal Forum Provision in our by-laws may impose additional litigation costs on shareholders in pursuing any such claims. Additionally, the forum selection clauses in our by-laws may limit our shareholders' ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that they find favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees, which may discourage the filing of lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and employees, even though an action, if successful, might benefit our shareholders. In the event a court finds either exclusive forum provision contained in our by-laws to be unenforceable or inapplicable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition. The courts of the Province of British Columbia and appellate courts therefrom and the federal district courts of the United States may also reach different judgments or results than would other courts, including courts where a shareholder considering an action may be located or would otherwise choose to bring the action, and such judgments may be more or less favorable to us than our shareholders.
- Regulation - Risk 2Legislative or regulatory reform of the health care system may affect our ability to sell our products profitably and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations and could cause the market value of our common shares and/or debt securities to decline.
In the U.S. and certain foreign jurisdictions, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory proposals to change the health care system in ways that could impact our ability to sell our products profitably. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the "PPACA") as amended by the Health Care Reform Act, may affect the operational results of companies in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, including the Company and other health care related industries, by imposing on them additional costs. Effective January 1, 2010, the Health Care Reform Act increased the minimum Medicaid drug rebates for pharmaceutical companies, expanded the 340B drug discount program, and made changes to affect the Medicare Part D coverage gap, or "donut hole." The law also revised the definition of "average manufacturer price" for reporting purposes, which may affect the amount of our Medicaid drug rebates to states. Beginning in 2011, the law imposed a significant annual fee on companies that manufacture or import branded prescription drug products. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 amended the PPACA, effective January 1, 2019, to close the donut hole in most Medicare drug plans. In addition, in April 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") published a final rule that gives states greater flexibility in setting benchmarks for insurers in the individual and small group marketplaces, which may have the effect of relaxing the essential health benefits required under the PPACA for plans sold through such marketplaces. The Inflation Reduction Act ("IRA") made significant changes to how drugs are covered and paid for under the Medicare program, including imposing financial penalties if drug prices are increased at a rate faster than inflation, redesigning Medicare Part D benefits to shift a greater portion of the costs to manufacturers and allowing the U.S. government to set prices for certain drugs in Medicare. The IRA also provides for (i) the U.S. government to set or "negotiate" prices for select high-cost Medicare Part D (beginning in 2026) and Medicare Part B drugs (beginning in 2028) that are more than nine years (for small-molecule drugs) or 13 years (for biological products) from their initial FDA approval, (ii) manufacturers to pay a rebate for Medicare Part B and Part D drugs when prices increase faster than inflation beginning in 2022 for Medicare Part D and 2023 for Medicare Part B drugs and (iii) Medicare Part D redesign which replaces the current Part D Coverage Gap Discount Program and established a $2,000 cap for out-of-pocket limits costs for Medicare beneficiaries beginning in 2025, which has increased to $2,100 for 2026, with manufacturers being responsible for 10% of costs up to the $2,100 cap and 20% after that cap is reached. There have been prior efforts in Congress to amend or replace the IRA and it is possible that there could be new efforts to make changes to this legislation. We cannot predict what those changes will be or when they will take effect, and we could face additional risks arising from such changes or changed interpretations of our obligations under the legislation. Because of this continued uncertainty, including the potential for further legal challenges or repeal of that legislation, we cannot quantify or predict with any certainty the likely impact of this legislation or its repeal on our business model, prospects, financial condition or results of operations, in particular on the pricing, coverage or reimbursement of any of our product candidates that may receive marketing approval. Additionally, policy efforts designed specifically to reduce patient out-of-pocket costs for medicines could result in new mandatory rebates and discounts or other pricing restrictions. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (the "OBBBA"), which was signed into law on July 4, 2025, imposes, among other things, new restrictions on funding for government health care programs and on individual eligibility for coverage under those programs, which may lead to lower reimbursements for drugs covered by those programs. At the state level, legislatures have increasingly passed legislation and implemented regulations designed to control pharmaceutical product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing. We also anticipate that Congress, state legislatures, and third-party payors may continue to review and assess alternative health care delivery and payment systems and may in the future propose and adopt legislation or policy changes or implementations effecting additional fundamental changes in the health care delivery system. We cannot provide assurance as to the ultimate content, timing, or effect of changes, nor is it possible at this time to estimate the impact of any such potential legislation. Changes to health care laws or regulatory framework that reduce our revenues or increase our costs could also have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations and could cause the market value of our common shares and/or debt securities to decline.
- Regulation - Risk 3We are subject to various laws and regulations, including "fraud and abuse" laws, anti-bribery laws, environmental laws and privacy and security laws, and a failure to comply with such laws and related regulations or prevail in any litigation or investigation related to noncompliance could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations and could cause the market value of our common shares and/or debt securities to decline.
Pharmaceutical and medical device companies have faced lawsuits and investigations pertaining to violations of health care "fraud and abuse" laws, such as the federal False Claims Act, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute ("AKS") and other state and federal laws and regulations. The AKS prohibits, among other things, knowingly and willfully offering, paying, soliciting or receiving remuneration to induce or in return for purchasing, leasing, ordering or arranging for the purchase, lease or order of any health care item or service reimbursable under federally financed health care programs. This statute has been interpreted to apply to arrangements between pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturers, on the one hand, and prescribers, purchasers, formulary managers and other health care related professionals, on the other hand. More generally, the federal False Claims Act, among other things, prohibits any person from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, a false claim for payment to the federal government. Pharmaceutical and medical device companies have been prosecuted or faced civil liability under these laws for a variety of alleged promotional and marketing activities, including engaging in off-label promotion that caused claims to be submitted for non-covered off-label uses. If we are in violation of any of these requirements or any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, this could have a significant impact on our business, including the imposition of significant criminal and civil fines and penalties, exclusion from federal health care programs or other sanctions, including consent orders or corporate integrity agreements. In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General recommends, and increasingly states require pharmaceutical companies to have comprehensive compliance programs. Moreover, the Physician Payment Sunshine Act enacted in 2010 imposes reporting and disclosure requirements on device and drug manufacturers for any "transfer of value" made or distributed to prescribers and other health care providers. Failure to submit this required information may result in significant civil monetary penalties. While we have developed corporate compliance programs based on what we believe to be current best practices, we cannot provide assurance that we or our employees or agents are or will be in compliance with all applicable federal, state or foreign regulations and laws. If we are in violation of any of these requirements or any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business, including the imposition of significant criminal and civil fines and penalties, exclusion from federal health care programs or other sanctions, including consent orders or corporate integrity agreements. The FCPA, the Canadian Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act and similar worldwide anti- bribery laws generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Our policies mandate compliance with these anti-bribery laws. We operate in many parts of the world that have experienced governmental corruption and in certain circumstances, strict compliance with anti-bribery laws may conflict with local customs and practices or may require us to interact with doctors and hospitals, some of which may be state controlled, in a manner that is different than in the United States and Canada. We cannot provide assurance that our internal control policies and procedures will protect us from reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees, consultants, distributors, third party contractors or agents. Violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, could disrupt our business and result in criminal or civil penalties or remedial measures, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations and could cause the market value of our common shares and/or debt securities to decline. We are also subject to various state, federal and international laws and regulations governing the collection, transmission, dissemination, use, privacy, confidentiality, security, retention, availability, integrity and other processing of health-related and other sensitive and personal information, including the HIPAA. Many states in which we operate have laws that protect the privacy and security of sensitive and personal information, including health-related information. Certain state laws may be more stringent or broader in scope, or offer greater individual rights, with respect to sensitive and personal information than federal, international or other state laws, and such laws may differ from each other, which may complicate compliance efforts. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act ("CPRA," and collectively, "CCPA") imposes stringent data privacy and security requirements and obligations with respect to the personal information of California residents and provides for civil penalties for violations, as well as a private right of action for certain data breaches that result in the loss of personal data that may increase the likelihood of, and risks associated with, data breach litigation. The effects on our business of the CCPA and other similar state laws are potentially significant. State laws are changing rapidly and there is discussion in Congress of a new federal data protection and privacy law to which we may be subject. For instance, the CPRA maintains the core framework of the CCPA while also making a number of substantive changes. Additionally, some statutory requirements, both in the United States and abroad, include obligations for companies to notify individuals of security breaches involving particular personal information, which could result from breaches experienced by us or our service providers. For example, laws in all 50 U.S. states require businesses to provide notice to customers whose personal data has been disclosed as a result of a data breach. The laws are not consistent,and compliance in the event of a widespread data breach is difficult and may be costly. Moreover, states have been frequently amending existing laws, requiring attention to changing regulatory requirements. We are also subject to various state and federal rules and laws governing cybersecurity risks and incidents, including an SEC rule relating to disclosure of material cybersecurity incidents and risks and state laws regarding notification of data breaches. Since these data security regimes are evolving, uncertain and complex, especially for a global business such as ours, we will need to update or enhance our compliance measures from time to time and these updates or enhancements will require further implementation costs. Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with current and future regulatory or customer-driven privacy, data protection, and information security requirements, or to prevent or mitigate security breaches, cyber- attacks, or improper access to, use of, or disclosure of data, or any security issues or cyber-attacks affecting our business, could result in significant liability, costs (including the costs of mitigation and recovery), a material loss of revenue resulting from the adverse impact on its reputation and brand, loss of proprietary information and data, disruption to its business and relationships, and diminished ability to retain or attract customers and business partners. Such events may result in governmental enforcement actions and prosecutions, private litigation, fines and penalties or adverse publicity, and could cause customers and business partners to lose trust in us, which could have an adverse effect on our reputation and business. Internationally, laws and regulations in many jurisdictions apply broadly to the collection, transmission, dissemination, use, privacy, confidentiality, security, retention, availability, integrity and other processing of health-related and other sensitive and personal information. For example, the EU's General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"), and the UK GDPR together with national legislation, regulations and guidelines of the EU member states and the UK governing the processing of personal data, impose strict obligations and restrictions on the ability to collect, analyze, store, transfer and otherwise process personal data, including health data from clinical trials and adverse event reporting. The GDPR authorizes fines for certain violations of up to 4% of global annual revenue or €20 million (or GBP 17.5 million under the UK GDPR), whichever is greater. European data protection authorities may interpret the GDPR and national laws differently and impose additional requirements, which contributes to the complexity of processing personal data in or from the European Economic Area or UK. Guidance on implementation and compliance practices is often updated or otherwise revised. These laws require data controllers to implement stringent operational requirements, including, for example, transparent and expanded disclosure to data subjects about how their personal data is collected and processed, grant rights for data subjects to access, delete or object to the processing of their data, mandatory data breach notification requirements (and in certain cases, affected individuals), set limitations on retention of information and outline significant documentary requirements to demonstrate compliance through policies, procedures, training and audits. The GDPR also provides that EU member states may introduce further conditions, including limitations, and make their own laws and regulations, further limiting the processing of ‘special categories of personal data,' including personal data related to health, biometric data used for unique identification purposes and genetic information, which could limit our ability to collect, use and share EU data, and could cause our compliance costs to increase, ultimately having an adverse impact on our business, and harm our business and financial condition. The withdrawal of the UK from the European Union also has created uncertainty with regard to the regulation of data protection in the UK. Since January 1, 2021, when the transitional period following Brexit expired, we have been required to comply with the GDPR as well as the UK GDPR (combining the GDPR and the UK's Data Protection Act of 2018), which exposes us to two parallel regimes, each of which authorizes similar fines and may subject us to increased compliance risk based on differing, and potentially inconsistent or conflicting, interpretation and enforcement by regulators and authorities. While the GDPR and the UK GDPR remain substantially similar for the time being, the government of the UK has adopted reforms to its data privacy and cybersecurity legal framework in its Data Use and Access Act 2025, which became law on June 19, 2025 (phasing in between June 2025 and June 2026) and will introduce significant changes from the GDPR. This may lead to additional compliance costs and could increase overall risk exposure as businesses may no longer be able to take a unified approach across the EEA and the UK, and such businesses may need to amend their processes and procedures to align with the new framework. Implementing mechanisms to endeavor to ensure compliance with the GDPR and the UK GDPR may be onerous and expose businesses to divergent parallel regimes that may be subject to potentially different interpretations and enforcement actions for certain violations and related uncertainty. With respect to transfers of personal data from the EEA, on June 28, 2021, the European Commission issued an adequacy decision in respect of the UK's data protection framework, enabling data transfers from EU member states to the UK to continue without requiring organizations to put in place contractual or other measures in order to lawfully transfer personal data between the territories. Such adequacy decision was extended until December 2031, however, the European Commission may unilaterally revoke the adequacy decision at any point, and if this occurs, it could lead to additional costs and increase our overall risk exposure. Several laws have been enacted at the U.S. state level that regulate the development and deployment of AI platforms and systems. Although there are no U.S. federal laws specifically governing AI development and use, federal agencies in the United States are applying existing laws to address AI-related risks. An Executive Order issued in December 2025 seeks to establish uniform federal standards and challenge state laws that regulate AI. As with data privacy laws, these state laws and possible federal regulation could have significant effects on our Company and require us to change our AI practices and incur substantial costs and expenses in order to comply. In addition, regulators in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and other jurisdictions are developing new guidance or binding rules applicable to AI systems, including algorithmic accountability, explainability, dataset quality, and restrictions on certain high-risk uses of AI. We have internal governance processes designed to monitor such developments and to promote compliance with applicable AI-related legal and regulatory requirements. In the EU, we are also subject to the EU AI Act, regulating development and deployment of AI systems. The EU AI Act applies to both public and private actors inside and outside of the EU as long as the AI system is placed on the EU market, or its use has an impact on people located in the EU. In the context of the European Strategy for Data, we may also be subject to the EU's Data Act, a new regulation intended to make data more accessible and usable, encouraging data-driven innovation and increasing data availability in the area of connected devices and related services placed on the EU market. To the extent our medical devices or digital health technologies generate or process such data, the EU Data Act may require us to provide users or third parties with access to certain categories of device-generated data, implement data-sharing mechanisms, and comply with associated transparency, contractual, and cybersecurity obligations. The EU Data Act also imposes restrictions on international data transfers and requirements related to switching between cloud or data-processing service providers. Compliance with the EU Data Act may result in operational changes and additional administrative, contractual, and technical obligations. In addition, in China, the PIPL came into force in November 2021. The PIPL is the first Chinese national-level law comprehensively regulating issues in relation to personal information protection. The PIPL provides for specific administrative requirements and security controls when transferring personal data outside the Peoples Republic of China. Measures for Data Export Security Assessment were promulgated by the Chinese authority as part of the implementation of outbound data transfer requirements under the PIPL, which came into effect on September 1, 2022. On June 1, 2023, the Standard Contract Measures for the Export of Personal Information were formulated to facilitate the outbound data transfer through the use of standard contracts for the cross-border transfer of personal information with overseas recipients. We are also subject to Canada's federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act ("PIPEDA") and substantially similar equivalents at the provincial level with respect to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information in Canada. Such federal and provincial legislation impose data privacy and security obligations on our processing of personal information of Canadian residents. The federal, Quebec and Alberta legislation include mandatory data breach notification requirements. Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation ("CASL") also applies to the extent that we send commercial electronic messages from Canada or to electronic addresses in Canada. CASL contains prescriptive consent, form, content and unsubscribe mechanism requirements. Penalties for non-compliance with CASL are up to CAD $10 million per violation. These laws and regulations may be interpreted and applied differently over time and from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and it is possible they will be interpreted and applied in ways that will materially and adversely affect our business. The regulatory framework for data privacy, data security and data transfers worldwide is rapidly evolving and is likely to remain uncertain for the foreseeable future. Complying with all of these laws and regulations involves costs to our business, and failure to comply with these laws and regulations can result in the imposition of significant civil and criminal penalties, as well as litigation, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations and could cause the market value of our common shares and/or debt securities to decline. We are also subject to U.S. federal laws regarding reporting and payment obligations with respect to our participation in federal health care programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. Because our processes for calculating applicable government prices and the judgments involved in making these calculations involve subjective decisions and complex methodologies, these calculations are subject to risk of errors and differing interpretations. In addition, they are subject to review and challenge by the applicable governmental agencies, and it is possible that such reviews could result in changes that could have material adverse legal, regulatory, or economic consequences. The Trump administration has signed many executive orders on a range of topics, including with respect to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility programs, policies and related issues, tariffs and other trade protection measures, environmental and energy-related matters, regulation of artificial intelligence and review of existing legislation and regulations (such as the FCPA and Inflation Reduction Act). Additional executive orders are anticipated. In addition, these executive orders may inform future legislative reform. We are in the process of monitoring and assessing these executive orders and what, if any, impact they will have on our business and operations, but such impact could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations and could cause the market value of our common shares and/or debt securities to decline.
- Regulation - Risk 4Our marketing, promotional and business practices, as well as the manner in which sales forces interact with purchasers, prescribers and patients, are subject to extensive regulation and any material failure to comply could result in significant sanctions against us.
The marketing, promotional and business practices of pharmaceutical and medical device companies, as well as the manner in which companies' in-house or third-party sales forces interact with purchasers, prescribers and patients, are subject to extensive regulation, enforcement of which may result in the imposition of civil, regulatory and/or criminal penalties, injunctions and/or limitations on marketing practice for some of our products and/or pricing restrictions or mandated price reductions for some of our products. Many companies, including us, have been the subject of claims related to these practices asserted by federal authorities. These claims have resulted in fines and other consequences, such as entering into corporate integrity agreements with the U.S. government. Companies may not promote drugs or devices for "off-label" uses-that is, uses that are not described in the product's labeling and that differ from those approved by the FDA, Health Canada, EMA or other applicable regulatory agencies. A company that is found to have improperly promoted off-label uses may be subject to significant liability, including civil and administrative remedies (such as entering into corporate integrity agreements with the U.S. government), as well as criminal sanctions. In addition, management's attention could be diverted from our business operations and our reputation could be damaged.
- Regulation - Risk 5We are, and may in the future be, subject to certain limitations or restrictions on pricing increases for certain of our products. These pricing limitations or restrictions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations and could cause the market value of our common shares and/or debt securities to decline.
For certain of our products, we are, and may in the future be, subject to certain restrictions that limit our ability to increase or make changes to the pricing of those products. These restrictions or limitations are or may be imposed contractually (such as through our contracts with group purchasing organizations or others), through legislation (such as the Inflation Reduction Act, which, among other things, currently requires manufacturers to pay rebates to Medicare if prices increase faster than inflation for products used by Medicare beneficiaries and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act which, among other things, imposes new restrictions on funding for government health care programs and on individual eligibility for coverage under those programs, which may lead to lower reimbursements for drugs covered by those programs) or administrative actions (such as the Executive Order issued in May 2025 titled "Delivering Most-Favored Nation Prescription Drug Pricing to American Patients" which may impact the sales or profitability of branded pharmaceutical products and the extent of the impact may vary depending on the timeline for implementation and the number of pharmaceutical products that are impacted) or through decisions or commitments we decide to make ourselves (such as through the pricing committees we have established or may establish for certain of our businesses). At this time, we cannot predict what pricing changes we will make (or be required to make) nor can we predict what other changes in our business practices we may implement with respect to pricing. We also cannot predict the impact such pricing decisions or changes will or would have on our business. However, any such changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations and could cause the market value of our common shares and/or debt securities to decline. For example, any pricing changes and programs could affect the average realized prices for our products and may have a significant impact on our revenue trends. In addition, limiting or eliminating price increases on certain of our products will result in fewer or lower price appreciation credits from certain of our wholesalers. Price appreciation credits are generated when we increase a product's wholesaler acquisition cost ("WAC") under our contracts with certain wholesalers. Under such contracts, we are entitled to credits from such wholesalers for the impact of that WAC increase on inventory currently on hand at the wholesalers. In wholesaler contracts, such credits, which can be significant, are offset against the total distribution service fees we pay on all of our products to each wholesaler. As a result, to the extent we decide to cease or limit price increases, we will have fewer or lower price appreciation credits to use to offset against our distribution fees owing to these wholesalers. In addition, under certain of our agreements with our wholesaler customers, we have price protection or price depreciation provisions, pursuant to which we have agreed to adjust the value of any on-hand or in-transit inventory with such customers in the event we reduce the price of any of our products. As a result, to the extent we reduce the WAC price for any of our products, we may owe a payment to such customers (or such customers may earn a credit to be offset against any amounts owing to us) equal to the amount of such inventory multiplied by the difference between the price at which they acquired the product inventory and the new reduced price.
- Regulation - Risk 6Complying with existing government regulation of dietary supplements, including our eye vitamins and mineral supplements, in the U.S., Canada and elsewhere could increase our costs significantly and adversely affect our financial results.
The manufacturing, formulation, packaging, labeling and advertising of the Company's dietary supplement products are also subject to regulation by certain federal, state and foreign agencies, including the FDA, the Federal Trade Commission (the "FTC"), and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, in the U.S., and by Health Canada in Canada. The FDA has authority in the U.S. over the adulteration or misbranding of dietary supplements. There are requirements relating to ingredient safety, new dietary ingredient notifications, labeling, claims notifications, and adverse event reporting among other requirements. While we believe our products comply with those requirements, the FDA may challenge positions we have taken with respect to the formulation or labeling of a dietary supplement product or the claims we make with respect to such products. We are also subject to risks relating to evolving regulations of dietary supplement products, including our eye vitamins and mineral supplements, as the FDA and other applicable agencies have in the past and may in the future consider additional or more stringent regulations of dietary supplements and other products. Such developments could require reformulation of certain of our products to meet new standards, additional record-keeping obligations, increased documentation of the properties of certain products, additional or different labeling, additional scientific substantiation, adverse event reporting or similar obligations, amended or different promotional claims and materials, or could result in recalls or the discontinuance of certain of our products that are not able to be reformulated. Any such developments could increase our costs significantly. In addition, the FDA also has comprehensive regulations for cGMP for those who manufacture, package or hold dietary supplement products. These regulations focus on practices that ensure the identity, purity, quality, strength and composition of dietary supplements manufacture. We or our contract manufacturers may not be able to comply with such regulations without incurring additional expenses, which could be significant.
- Regulation - Risk 7Our marketed products will be subject to ongoing regulatory review.
Following initial regulatory approval of any products, we or our partners may develop or acquire, we will be subject to continuing regulatory review by various government authorities in those countries where our products are marketed or intended to be marketed, including the review of adverse drug events and clinical results that are reported after product candidates become commercially available. This also includes the need to monitor our medical device products both before and after receipt of the applicable market authorizations, including with respect to managing adverse device cases for reportable events, which may, for example, result in the need to file field safety notifications to competent health authorities and, where applicable, ongoing cybersecurity requirements. In addition, we are subject to ongoing audits and investigations of our facilities and products by the FDA, as well as other regulatory agencies in and outside the United States. If we fail to comply with the regulatory requirements in those countries where our products are sold, we could lose our marketing approvals or be subject to fines or other sanctions. Also, as a condition to granting marketing approval of a product, the applicable regulatory agencies may require a company to conduct additional clinical trials or remediate Current Good Manufacturing Practice ("cGMP") issues, the results of which could result in the subsequent loss of marketing approval, changes in product labeling or new or increased concerns about side effects or efficacy of a product. Also our compliance requirements extend to other current good practices with which we must comply and adhere to with respect to the development and commercialization of our products and medical devices, including not only cGMP, but also Current Good Laboratory Practices ("cGLP"), Current Good Clinical Practices ("cGCP") and Current Good Distribution Practices ("cGDP"). In April 2017, the European Union adopted the European Medical Device Regulations ("EU MDR"), which repeals and replaces the Medical Device Directive ("MDD") and active implantable medical devices Directive ("AIMDD") 90/385/EEC. The EU MDR, for most parts, became applicable on May 26, 2021. Under the EU MDR, several transitional measures apply to medical devices that are certified under the MDD or AIMDD prior to May 26, 2021 or, for class I device, for which a declaration of conformity was drawn up prior to May 26, 2021, allowing these devices to be placed on the market after May 26, 2021 under certain conditions for a transitional period. However, if we make any significant changes in the design or intended purpose of our devices, they will no longer benefit from such transitional periods. Generally, the EU MDR imposes stricter requirements on manufacturers, importers and distributors of medical devices. Moreover, the requirements to provide clinical data for medical devices has become stricter and as a result we may need to conduct new time consuming and costly clinical investigations with our existing medical devices to meet the new requirements, including to obtain CE certificates under the EU MDR. We may, or may not, be able to provide this data in time to obtain EU MDR certifications in a timely fashion when our existing certificates expire. These new regulations impact all of our existing and pipeline medical device products being sold in the EEA for which we are legal manufacturer, importer and/or distributor, including contact lens, lens care, eye health, aesthetic and surgical areas, as well as certain of our products outside the EEA, which rely on the EEA registration to support registration in those other countries. These products, in the aggregate, account for a meaningful portion of our net revenue in this region. While we are working to ensure compliance with these new regulations for all impacted products, we may not be able to achieve compliance for all products within the applicable transition period. If we fail to achieve compliance, we will not be able to market and sell the non-compliant products in the EEA, nor will we be able to rely on the non-compliant registration for such products in regions outside of the EEA, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations in the EEA and, possibly, on a consolidated basis, and could cause the market value of our common shares and/or debt securities to decline. While EU law is applicable in Northern Ireland, the UK Medical Devices Regulations 2002/618 ("UK MDR 2002") also need to be complied with in Great Britain. Medical device manufacturers who have CE marked devices will be able to continue to place them on the market in the whole of the UK if they have an EU MDR CE certificate, until June 30, 2030, without a change in labeling. Legacy medical devices with an EU MDD CE certificate or an EU Declaration of Conformity may continue to be placed on the UK market as long as they meet the transitional provisions of the EU MDR for Northern Ireland and the UK MDR 2002 for Great Britain. For class III and class IIb implantable devices (subject to some exclusions), these transitional provisions will end on December 31, 2027 in both Great Britain and Northern Ireland and, for all other classes in scope, these transitional provisions will end on June 30, 2028 in Great Britain and December 31, 2028 in Northern Ireland. After that, devices destined for Great Britain will be required to follow the future UK regulatory regime, which came into force in 2025. Northern Ireland will, however, continue to accept CE marked devices. There are some additional requirements for manufacturers who are based outside the UK such as the requirement to appoint a UK Responsible Person ("UKRP") to take on certain regulatory responsibilities. To enable devices to be placed on the market in the UK after January 1, 2021 (even for CE marked devices), a UK manufacturer, a UKRP for an overseas manufacturer or an EU Authorised Representative based in Northern Ireland (for the purposes of the Northern Ireland market) must register with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency ("MHRA"). The registering entity will then register each of the devices for which they are responsible for placing on the market in the UK, whether in Great Britain or Northern Ireland, as required by the UM MDR 2002. This may create added expense and challenges as explained below. Until May 25, 2021, our products bearing a CE mark could be exported from the EEA to Switzerland. However, as of May 26, 2021, the Mutual Recognition Agreement between the EEA and Switzerland has not been updated to include the requirements of EU MDR. Accordingly, legal manufacturers in Switzerland are required to appoint a European Union authorized representative, and manufacturers outside of Switzerland are required to appoint a Swiss authorized representative in compliance with the Swiss Medical Device Ordinance. As a consequence, beginning in June 2021, we have been required to appoint an authorized representative in Switzerland in order to export our CE-marked medical devices to Switzerland. Additionally, the name and address of the Swiss authorized representative must be placed on the packaging. This has created added expenses and challenges. In addition, incidents of adverse drug reactions, unintended side effects or misuse relating to our products could result in additional regulatory controls or restrictions, or even lead to the regulatory authority requiring us to recall or withdraw the product from the market. Further, if faced with these incidents of adverse drug reactions, unintended side effects or misuse relating to our products or for other reasons, we may elect to voluntarily implement a recall or market withdrawal of our product. For example, on March 27, 2025, we announced a voluntary recall of certain enVista IOL products in response to reports of toxic anterior segment syndrome (TASS), which stemmed from raw material used in certain lots that was delivered by a different vendor. This issue has now been resolved. A recall or market withdrawal, whether voluntary or required by a regulatory authority, may involve significant costs to us, potential disruptions in the supply of our products to our customers and reputational harm to our products and business, all of which could harm our ability to market our products and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations and could cause the market value of our common shares and/or debt securities to decline.
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