MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Medtech titan Boston Scientific‘s (NYSE:BSX) logged a major loss after winning a few rounds in the ongoing lawsuits over its vaginal sling implants, and the deciding factor may have been the revelation of an internal company email.
The Marlborough, Mass.-based medical device company won the first 2 lawsuits to go to trial in a Massachusetts state court, but a Dallas jury ruled earlier this month that Boston Scientific’s Obtryx pelvic mesh device caused Martha Salazar’s injuries, awarding her $73.5 million in damages.
One thing the latest lawsuit had that was missing from earlier trials was an internal company email detailing a study warning against use of the Obtryx implant, which is the "just the sort of internal communication attorneys say can drastically sway a jury," Law360.com reported.
"The internal communication that bolstered plaintiff Martha Salazar’s arguments was an email sent in August 2010 between the device makers’ marketing staff, appearing to express misgivings about a study published in December 2009 in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology," according to the article. "The study compared Boston Scientific’s Obtryx device with its Advantage sling system and said that until there was further long-term testing of the Obtryx, physicians should use Advantage instead."
Military seeks super-healing medical implants
DARPA is working on implantable technologies that could monitor the body for injuries and automatically dispense treatment.
Read more
Nevada judge refuses to relinquish DePuy hip lawsuit
Judge Robert Jones of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada refuses a motion to return to the state a lawsuit over hip implants made by DePuy Synthes, a Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary.
Read more
Prostate cancer screening guidelines go unheeded
Recommendations against prostate-specific antigen tests for screening elderly men for prostate cancer have gone largely unheeded, with researchers saying the effect of the guidelines has been "minimal at best."
Read more
Cooler dialysis fluids may protect the brain
A simple measure to cool dialysis fluids prior to use may help prevent patients from suffering blood pressure changes that can damage the brain, according to the American Society of Nephrology.
Read more
