Say hello to MassDevice +3, a bite-sized view of the top three medtech stories of the day. This feature of MassDevice.com’s coverage highlights our 3 biggest and most influential stories from the day’s news to make sure you’re up to date on the headlines that continue to shape the medical device industry.
3. Johnson & Johnson escapes DePuy Pinnacle hip implant lawsuit
Johnson & Johnson subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics won the dismissal of a False Claims Act lawsuit brought by a pair of British surgeons over its since-recalled Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip implant.
Drs. Antoni Nargol and David Langton sued in 2012, alleging that DePuy Orthopaedics committed fraud when it billed federal agencies for Pinnacle implantation procedures, because it knew of and concealed problems with the device. Read more
2. Urologix sold to settle debt to Medtronic
Urologix Inc. said almost all of its assets to a secured creditor, which then sold them to a private company that will operate the business as Urologix LLC. The remnants of Urologix Inc. were renamed 21st North Inc.
The Minneapolis-based company, which makes the Cooled ThermoTherapy and Prostiva RF devices to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia, licensed Prostiva from Medtronic. Read more
1. Boston Scientific, Bard escape joint pelvic mesh trial
Boston Scientific and C.R. Bard won the 1st trial in a pelvic mesh lawsuit against 2 companies after a Kansas City jury voted 10-2 that their implants were not defective and didn’t cause plaintiff Eve Sherrer’s injuries.
Sherrer alleged that Bard’s Align and Boston Scientific’s Solyx products used a polypropylene mesh that reacts to tissue by becoming brittle, and that the companies failed to warn patients about the products’ attendant risks., seeking $28 million in damages. Read more
