Wright Medical jumps on $240m hip settlement, Q3 results

Wright Medical (NSDQ:WMGI) shares are up nearly 4% today after the orthopedics company yesterday said it inked a $240 million settlement this month for nearly 1,300 product liability lawsuits brought over its metal-on-metal hip implants and released 3rd-quarter earnings that beat expectations on Wall Street. Wright, which lost an $11 million verdict in the 1st Conserve bellwether suit last year (the company is still litigating that decision), said it will pay $180 million in cash and cover the remaining $60 million with insurance. The deal covers about 85% of the claims lodged over Wright’s Conserve, Dynasty and Lineage implants that needed revision surgeries within 8 years and aren’t subject to the statute of limitations. “We are very pleased to have reached this settlement agreement, in particular the population of claims that the settlement covers as well as the required 95% opt-in rate for those claims. With this clarity, we will continue to focus on accelerating growth opportunities in the extremities and biologics markets. This settlement addresses approximately 85% of the known U.S. revision claims that do not have potential statute of limitations issues and removes a great deal of the uncertainty that has been associated with this litigation,” president & CEO Robert Palmisano said in prepared remarks. Wright pledged to “vigorously defend” the estimated 1,300 claims not covered by the settlement. “We do expect there wi...
Source: Mass Device - Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Tags: MassDevice Earnings Roundup Orthopedics Wall Street Beat Wright Medical N.V. Source Type: news