Investors win class certification in lawsuit against Abbott ’ s Thoratec

A group of Thoratec shareholders this week won a class certification in a revived suit claiming that Thoratec, now owned by Abbott (NYSE:ABT), and some of its officers hid facts about its HeartMate II heart pump’s rate of thrombosis that would have negatively affected share prices, thereby misleading investors. Investor Bradley Cooper originally brought the suit against the company in January 2014, on behalf of anyone who bought stock between April 29, 2010, and Nov. 27, 2013. Plaintiffs in the case argued that the company failed to warn investors about a blood clot problem with its HeartMate II implant implicated in a Class I recall. In 2013, the FDA said an improperly connected component in the implant may result in deformation or tearing of the device’s outflow conduit, putting the patient at risk of serious injury or death. A year before that, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed a sharp increase in the rate of blood clots with the HeartMate II LVAD. The Pleasanton, Calif.-based device maker issued a correction notice in February 2012, warning physicians that a small portion of the HeartMate II devices’ sealed outflow graft bend reliefs, designed to prevent a connector between the pump and the aorta from kinking, were not properly connected. “Thoratec hid from its investors its own internal data confirming such reports and the related financial risk, and did not correct its prior disclosures. […] Thoratec did not disclose...
Source: Mass Device - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Cardiac Implants Cardiovascular Legal News Abbott Thoratec Corp. Source Type: news