Current Events

C.R. Bard (NYSE:BCR) and several subsidiaries of Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) unit Covidien settled more than 130 product liability lawsuits brought over pelvic mesh products.

The lawsuits were part of multi-district litigation being overseen in the U.S.
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Troubled auto supplier Takata is tumbling toward a widely expected bankruptcy filing following a costly scandal that has killed at least 16 people worldwide.

The Japanese supplier recently pleaded guilty in a U.S. court to criminal charges for its handling of the scandal, which involved exploding air bags.

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The FDA today released information on a select voluntary recall from Getinge‘s (PINK:GETI B) Datascope and Maquet of its System CS100, CS100i and CS300 intra-aortic balloon pumps over issues with potential electrical test failures.

Datascope said they received a complaint in which the device failed to initiate therapy, resulting in a patient death. The complaint involved a CS300 IABP device which failed to pump due to electrical test failure code #58, a maintenance code and an autofill failure, according to the FDA notice.

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The Supreme Court on Monday issued a ruling that makes it more difficult for plaintiffs attorneys to look for friendly locations for their lawsuits, a practice known as “court shopping.”

The court reversed a lower-court decision on class-action lawsuits, ruling that hundreds of defendants who sued Bristol-Myers Squibb in California over injuries associated with the blood-thinning drug Plavix could not sue in that state because they were not residents.

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The U.S. Justice Department said Friday that Genesis Health Inc., a major nursing home operator based in Kennett Square, will pay $53.6 million to settle six federal lawsuits and investigations alleging that companies and facilities acquired by Genesis billed the government for “medically unnecessary therapy and hospice services, and grossly substandard nursing care.
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Pfizer subsidiary Hospira issued a nationwide recall of its vials used to inject sodium bicarbonate, citing sterility concerns. The recall exacerbates the current shortage of the potentially lifesaving drug.

Hospira is voluntarily recalling sodium bicarbonate and succinylcholine chloride vials that had microbial growth and were susceptible to contamination, which could cause sepsis, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday.
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A bipartisan group of state attorneys general announced on Thursday that they are jointly investigating the marketing and sales practices of drug companies that manufacture opioid painkillers at the center of a national addiction epidemic.

Attorneys general from states including Massachusetts, Texas, Illinois and Pennsylvania announced the investigation two weeks after Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine sued five drug manufacturers for misrepresenting the risks of opioids.

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Takata Corp, the Japanese company facing billions in liabilities stemming from its defective air bag inflators, is preparing to file for bankruptcy as early as next week as it works toward a deal for financial backing from U.S. auto parts maker Key Safety Systems Inc, sources said on Thursday.

Takata, one of the world's biggest automotive suppliers, has been working for months to complete a deal with Key Safety.

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The Fiat Chrysler Automobile company said on Thursday that it is recalling about 300,000 Dodge Grand Caravan minivans after eight people suffered injuries from their airbags going off for no apparent reason.

Faulty wiring in the airbags of the minivans from the 2011-2012 model year caused them to deploy unintentionally, injuring eight people, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.

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Nassau County on Monday sued nearly two dozen pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors and doctors to recoup taxpayer-funded costs of fighting the opioid epidemic.

In a complaint filed in State Supreme Court in Mineola, lawyers for the county argued that the defendants engaged in a “sophisticated and highly deceptive and unfair marketing campaign” that aimed to expand the use of highly addictive prescription painkillers from short-term, post-surgical cases to everyday treatments.

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Millions of pounds of food — packaged under major brands including Libby’s, Tyson and Chef Boyardee and ranging from canned spaghetti and meatballs to frozen, ready-to-eat chicken strips — are under recall in the U.S. and Canada because of a labeling error by an unidentified bread crumb supplier.

The recalls started Thursday with an 87-ton recall of frozen burgers, meatballs and other raw and ready-to-eat beef products by Maid-Rite Specialty Foods LLC. In the following two days, eight more companies recalled fresh and frozen foods for a total of more than 3 million pounds of food pulled from retailers, restaurants, institutional kitchens and consumers’ homes for the lack of the word “milk” on the label.
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