Ocular Sciences Provides Comment on Ciba Lawsuit

Ocular Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: OCLR), commented on the lawsuit filed on November 6, 2002 by CIBA Vision Corporation and its subsidiary, Wesley Jessen Corporation, against the Company.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California alleges that Ocular's color contact lenses infringe patents owned by Wesley Jessen. The complaint seeks an award of damages, including unspecified punitive damages, attorneys' fees and costs and an injunction preventing the alleged infringement.

Ocular has not yet filed an answer to the complaint. The Company is confident that its lenses are manufactured based on its own technology. Ocular is reviewing with its legal counsel the allegations made in the complaint, finds them totally without merit, and will vigorously defend itself against the allegations.

(AP Biscom)