Smith & Nephew (FTSE:SN, NYSE:SNN) shares dropped nearly 3% in London and opened down 2.8% on Wall Street after the company said it’s voluntarily yanking a component from 1 of its metal-on-metal hip implants.
The British orthopedics player "has decided to initiate a voluntary market withdrawal of the optional metal liner component of its R3 acetabular system," according to a press release.
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The move doesn’t affect other liners for the R3 system or alter the standard of care for patients already implanted with the component, according to the release.
"We regularly review the effectiveness of our products and are not satisfied with the clinical results of this component. As with all medical devices, anyone experiencing unusual symptoms should contact their surgeon," SNN chief medical officer Andy Weymann said in prepared remarks.
Smith & Nephew said about 7,700 of the metal liners have been implanted since 2007, most with stemmed total hip replacements – amounting to less than 1% of SNN’s global hip implant revenue.
Metal-on-metal hip implants have made headlines worldwide since Johnson & Johnson‘s (NYSE:JNJ) DePuy Orthopaedics division ignited a flurry of class action and multi-district lawsuits, a public outcry and FDA scrutiny with the recall of a pair of metal-on-metal ASR hip implants in August 2010.
A multi-district lawsuit combining more than 1,100 hip replacement lawsuit for DePuy’s Pinnacle is underway in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The 1st of the ASR implant lawsuits should begin jury trials later this year.
SN shares fell 2.7% to £5.90 as of about 2:30 local time in London today. On Wall Street, SNN shares opened at $45.35, down 2.8%.
