A federal judge in New Jersey has shut down part of a multi-district lawsuit against Allergan over its Biocell textured breast implants but kept most other parts of the litigation.
Judge Brian Martinotti ruled on March 19 that some of the plaintiffs’ claims against Allergan (now part of AbbVie) were preempted by federal law while most others could stand — including one alleging that Allergan failed to report adverse events related to Biocell implants to the FDA.
Textured breast implants have been linked to BIA-ALCL, a type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The FDA asked Allergan to recall its Biocell textured implants in July 2019, saying that “the risk of BIA-ALCL with Allergan BIOCELL textured implants is approximately six times
the risk of BIA-ALCL with textured implants from other manufacturers.”
The recall covered 246,831 Biocell implants in the U.S., according to the judge’s order. Allergan refuses to pay the implants’ users for the cost of explant surgeries to remove the implants or for ongoing monitoring and testing for BIA-ALCL, Martinotti wrote. The multi-district litigation consists of 562 member cases.
Allergan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
