Report: Valeant Considers Selling Its Contact Lens Division Amid FTC Investigation

Reuters on Monday reported the possibility of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc VRX selling Paragon Vision Sciences, its contact lens manufacturing division. News of the possible sale comes amid the Federal Trade Commission's scrutiny of Valeant as regulators are concerned that the company has too much control of the contact lens market.

Carl O’Donnell wrote, "A sale of Paragon... would deal a blow to the specialty pharmaceutical company's attempt to consolidate the market for gas permeable contact lenses...Valeant has been using market power obtained through the purchase of Paragon to raise prices for the raw materials used in contact lens manufacturing, known as buttons, in some cases by more than 100 percent."

Reuters said Valeant has not confirmed or denied the rumors and no potential buyer list has been released. The sale of Paragon would cause Valeant to lose its monopoly on Ortho-K-lenses, which is used in the treatment of myopia and lose pricing power in the specialty contact lens market.

Alongside news of the FTC investigation, the bad press from reports of drug price hikes have weighed on shares of the company, with shares down 60 percent since September.

Shares of Valeant closed Monday at $92.19, down 3.33 percent.