• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

MassDevice

The Medical Device Business Journal — Medical Device News & Articles | MassDevice

  • Latest News
  • Technologies
    • Artificial Intelligence (AI)
    • Cardiovascular
    • Orthopedics
    • Neurological
    • Diabetes
    • Surgical Robotics
  • Business & Finance
    • Wall Street Beat
    • Earnings Reports
    • Funding Roundup
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Initial Public Offering (IPO)
    • Legal News
    • Personnel Moves
    • Medtech 100 Stock Index
  • Regulatory & Compliance
    • Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
    • Recalls
    • 510(k)
    • Pre-Market Approval (PMA)
    • MDSAP
    • Clinical Trials
  • Special Content
    • Special Reports
    • In-Depth Coverage
    • DeviceTalks
  • Podcasts
    • MassDevice Fast Five
    • DeviceTalks Weekly
    • OEM Talks
      • AbbottTalks
      • Boston ScientificTalks
      • DeviceTalks AI
      • IntuitiveTalks
      • MedtechWOMEN Talks
      • MedtronicTalks
      • Neuro Innovation Talks
      • Ortho Innovation Talks
      • Structural Heart Talks
      • StrykerTalks
  • Resources
    • About MassDevice
    • DeviceTalks
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Leadership in Medtech
    • Manufacturers & Suppliers Search
    • MedTech100 Index
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • Whitepapers
    • Voices
Home » Olympus reveals DoJ probe of superbug outbreak

Olympus reveals DoJ probe of superbug outbreak

June 1, 2015 By Brad Perriello

olympus-1x1

Olympus (TYO:7733) said this month that the U.S. Justice Dept. subpoenaed a U.S. medical device subsidiary in March over deadly outbreaks of so-called “superbug” infections linked to endoscopes it makes.

In February and March duodenoscopes made by Olympus were implicated in dozens of hospital-acquired infections across the country. In Seattle, 39 people were infected at the Virginia Mason Medical Center between 2012 and 2014; 11 eventually died. All were critically ill when they were infected, but it was unclear if the bacterial infection contributed to their deaths, Seattle public health officials said at the time.

Four patients in March were infected with bacteria from a contaminated scope and 67 more were at risk at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, weeks after UCLA Ronald Reagan hospital reported 7 patients were similarly infected and scores more potentially exposed.

Across the country in Connecticut, Hartford Hospital reported a similar outbreak involving at least 5 infections and more than 280 potential exposures.

Between 2013 and 2014, the FDA said it received reports of 135 possible microbial transmission from reprocessed duodenoscopes. The federal safety watchdog is slated to convene a special meeting of its gastroenterology & urology devices panel May 14-15 to discuss the transmission of “superbug” infections through endoscopy procedures in U.S. hospitals.

In its annual report issued May 8, the Japanese conglomerate said the Justice Dept. subpoena “seeks information relating to duodenoscopes that Olympus manufactures and sells.”

“In addition, subsidiaries of Olympus have been named as defendants in civil lawsuits in the United States alleging that the plaintiffs were harmed as of our group’s duodenoscopes. Depending on the developments in these matters, our consolidated results of operations and financial condition may be affected,” the company said.

The DoJ probe also reportedly involves at least 1 of the hospitals affected by a superbug outbreak.

Rando Wick, an attorney representing Virginia Mason Medical Center, told the L.A. Times that the hospital received a subpoena about a month about Olympus and its duodenoscopes, seeking information dating back several years.

Prosecutors, led by Jacob Elberg, chief of the healthcare & government fraud unit at the U.S. attorney’s office in Newark, N.J., “are clearly focused on a full investigation of Olympus,” Wick said. “They are asking for a lot of information.”

Filed Under: Business/Financial News, Endoscopic, Legal News

More recent news

  • Vicarious Surgical inks surgical robot collab with hospital, eyes first clinical patients
  • Bioliberty launches hub for soft-robotic wearable devices
  • Zynex submits laser pulse oximeter to FDA
  • Roche invests $550M to make Indianapolis a CGM manufacturing hub
  • Product liability lawsuits target Medtronic, Boston Scientific spinal cord stim tech

Primary Sidebar

“md
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest med device regulatory, business and technology news.

DeviceTalks Weekly

See More >

MEDTECH 100 Stock INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
MDO ad

Footer

MASSDEVICE MEDICAL NETWORK

DeviceTalks
Drug Delivery Business News
Medical Design & Outsourcing
Medical Tubing + Extrusion
Drug Discovery & Development
Pharmaceutical Processing World
MedTech 100 Index
R&D World
Medical Design Sourcing

DeviceTalks Webinars, Podcasts, & Discussions

Attend our Monthly Webinars
Listen to our Weekly Podcasts
Join our DeviceTalks Tuesdays Discussion

MASSDEVICE

Subscribe to MassDevice E-Newsletter
Advertise with us
About
Contact us

Copyright © 2025 · WTWH Media LLC and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media.

Privacy Policy