Medtronic wins one lawsuit, settles state AG probes over Infuse

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) said a shareholder lawsuit brought over its Infuse bone-growth protein is over, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case. Approved in 2002 for use in spinal fusion surgery, Infuse at one point had annual sales of nearly $1 billion. The bone-grafting product has since been linked to abnormal bone growth, certain cancers and male reproductive problems. Fridley, Minn.-based Medtronic has been accused of not only downplaying the product’s risks but also promoting it for off-label use. The derivative lawsuit, brought in March 2012 by  investor Charlotte Kokocinski in the U.S. District Court for Minnesota, alleged that the company and its management “violated various purported duties in connection with the Infuse bone graft product and otherwise,” according to the regulatory filing. The district court dismissed the case with prejudice in March 2015; two years later, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that decision. In September 2017, Kokocinski filed a petition for certiorari requesting a review by the Supreme Court. The petition was denied Jan. 18, according to the filing, “allowing the lower court’s dismissal of the case with prejudice to stand and bringing this matter to a conclusion.” Medtronic also revealed that it settled subpoenas or requests for documents about Infuse from the attorneys general in Massachusetts, California, Oregon, Illinois and Washington in December 2017, but “admitted n...
Source: Mass Device - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Legal News Orthopedics Regenerative Medicine Medtronic Source Type: news