Stryker Corp. (NYSE:SYK) won another victory in its ongoing legal travails over the now-recalled Trident hip implant, after a federal appeals upheld the dismissal of a product liability lawsuit.
Hips
DePuy Orthopedics recalls ASR hip implants
DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. is voluntarily recalling its ASR hip replacement system after receiving reports that a higher-than-normal number of patients required surgeries to correct or remove defective implants.
The Warsaw, Ind.-based Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary is pulling its ASR XL Acetabular and ASR Hip Resurfacing systems from the market "due to the number of patients who required a second hip replacement procedure, called a revision surgery," according to a press release.
Lawsuits pile up over DePuy hip implant
Lawsuits over an allegedly faulty hip implant are piling up for DePuy Orthopaedics, with three more patients suing the Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary over its ASR acetabular cup.
Cynthia Magowan, Harold Schoening and Katherin Balestra-Walter each received the device, according to a lawsuit filed in the California Superior Court for San Francisco, and each had to have revision surgery after the cup partially detached from their hip sockets.
Florida woman sues DePuy Orthopedics over hip implant
DePuy Orthopaedics is facing the first of what might be an avalanche of lawsuits over one of its hip implants, after a Florida woman sued the company over an allegedly faulty hip implant.
Tennessee judge rules no preemption in Stryker hip implant suit
A federal judge in Tennessee ruled that preemption does not apply in the case of a product liability lawsuit over an allegedly defective Stryker Corp. (NYSE:SYK) hip implant.
AMEDICA® RECEIVES PATENT FOR HIP IMPLANT USING MONOBLOCK CERAMIC TECHNOLOGY
Salt Lake City, June 2, 2010 – Amedica Corporation, a spinal and orthopaedic implant and instrument manufacturer focused on unique silicon nitride (SiN) ceramic technologies, announced today that it has been granted United States Patent No. 7,695,521 covering its novel hip implant featuring a monoblock ceramic acetabular cup for use in articulating joints for total joint replacement. Currently under development, Amedica’s cup covered under this and other pending patents will be used as an ultralow-wear-bearing component for motion-preserving implants.
Federal judge tosses Alabama lawsuit over Stryker artificial hip
Stryker Corp. (NYSE:SYK) notched another legal victory when a federal judge in Alabama sided with the company’s Howmedica Osteonics subsidiary in a product liability dispute, ruling that the plaintiff missed a Nov. 30, 2009, deadline to assemble expert witnesses supporting her claims.
In a May 13 summary judgment, U.S. District Court Judge William Steele dismissed a four-count suit brought by an Gulf Shores, Ala., woman alleging Stryker and Howmedica sold defective prosthetic hips, including the one she received during replacement surgery in September 2007. Steele tossed the case brought by plaintiff Judith Hughes “with prejudice,” meaning Hughes is barred from refiling the case.
Stryker Corp. resolves 2007 FDA beef over faulty hip implants
Stryker Corp. (NYSE:SYK) resolved all outstanding issues related to a warning letter the company received from the Food & Drug Administration in 2007, which led to a recall of some of its Trident hip implants.
The original warning letter, dated November 28, 2007, was filed after FDA inspectors examined the company’s Mahwah, N.J., manufacturing facility and determined that quality gaps had contributed to faulty hip implants. It was one of two warning letters the company received from regulators in 2007 over failures in its quality systems.
OMNIlife inks distribution deal with French artificial hip maker
OMNIlife Science Inc. will be the exclusive U.S. distributor of articulation technology used in artificial hips made by a French maker of orthopedic and dental implants.
Taunton, Mass.-based OMNIlife said the deal with Societe d’Etudes Recherches Fabrication-Dedienne Sante will begin as soon as the company receives regulatory approval from the Food & Drug Administration. Further terms of the deal were not announced.
Analyst: Hip and knee replacement markets “stable to improving”
An analyst at Leerink-Swann investment bank is bullish on the hip and knee markets, writing that they’re in a “stable-to-improving mode” despite pricing pressures and a sluggish European economy.
In an email to investors, Leerink analyst Rick Wise said second-quarter earnings results at Warsaw, Ind.-based orthopedic device maker Biomet Inc. could be a harbinger for a steadily improving orthopedics market.
DePuy unit snaps up British orthopedic implant maker
DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. acquired Leatherhead, U.K.-based hip implant maker Finsbury Orthopaedics Ltd. for an undisclosed amount.
Warsaw, Ind.-based DePuy Orthopaedics is a division of DePuy Inc., which houses three of its divisions in Massachusetts and is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ).
Finsbury will provide DePuy with several product lines, including both ceramic and metal hip systems, a total ankle replacement and several small joint reconstructive implant lines, according to press release (PDF). Finsbury, which was founded in 1978, employs about 250 people.