Lens, eyeglass firms fined $3.1m in price-fixing case

Johnson & Johnson Inc and Bausch & Lomb Inc were among several contact lens and eyeglass manufacturers fined a total of 19.6 million yuan ($3.1 million) for price fixing. It's the latest antitrust investigation by China's top economic planner.

Some eyeglass manufacturers required dealers to adhere to suggested retail prices for contact lenses, while some contact lens companies told retailers to hold promotional activities such as "three for one" offers all year round to maintain resale prices, the National Development and Reform Commission said in an online statement on Thursday.

Based on the statement, the companies pursued vertical price-fixing, said Huang Yong, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. He said the case is similar to previous cases involving infant formula and liquor.