West Virginia Attorney General's Office09.19.19
West Virginia attorney general Patrick Morrisey has filed suit against Johnson & Johnson and subsidiary companies Ethicon Inc. and Ethicon US, LLC, alleging the companies engaged in unlawful, unfair and deceptive marketing practices associated with their surgical mesh devices.
“Misrepresenting any product’s safety is unlawful and can have dire effects on consumers,” Morrisey said. “When medical products are marketed in an improper manner, it can put consumers’ health at risk.”
The attorney general’s lawsuit claims Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon misrepresented the effectiveness, properties, risks, and safety history of the surgical mesh products in marketing and educational materials provided to patients and doctors, in personal meetings and in published medical articles.
The attorney general alleges informational and marketing materials for the companies’ surgical mesh devices consistently omitted or concealed complications.
Additionally, the attorney general’s lawsuit states that the surgical mesh products were misrepresented as being approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. However, the products were not tested in clinical trials to obtain FDA approval prior to their initial sale but were instead cleared by a less rigorous approval process.
Surgical mesh is used in the treatment of conditions caused by weakened or damaged tissues and muscles in the pelvic floor area, leading to what is commonly called a pelvic floor collapse. These conditions affect approximately one-third to one-half of women. The mesh is surgically implanted in the body to act as a scaffold for the growth of new tissue to repair the weakened and damaged tissues of the pelvic floor.
The attorney general’s lawsuit alleges Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon violated the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act. It seeks civil penalties and a permanent injunction to prevent the companies from marketing, advertising, promoting, offering for sale, distributing, or selling their surgical mesh products in West Virginia.
Read a copy of the filed complaint at http://bit.ly/2klEzO4.
“Misrepresenting any product’s safety is unlawful and can have dire effects on consumers,” Morrisey said. “When medical products are marketed in an improper manner, it can put consumers’ health at risk.”
The attorney general’s lawsuit claims Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon misrepresented the effectiveness, properties, risks, and safety history of the surgical mesh products in marketing and educational materials provided to patients and doctors, in personal meetings and in published medical articles.
The attorney general alleges informational and marketing materials for the companies’ surgical mesh devices consistently omitted or concealed complications.
Additionally, the attorney general’s lawsuit states that the surgical mesh products were misrepresented as being approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. However, the products were not tested in clinical trials to obtain FDA approval prior to their initial sale but were instead cleared by a less rigorous approval process.
Surgical mesh is used in the treatment of conditions caused by weakened or damaged tissues and muscles in the pelvic floor area, leading to what is commonly called a pelvic floor collapse. These conditions affect approximately one-third to one-half of women. The mesh is surgically implanted in the body to act as a scaffold for the growth of new tissue to repair the weakened and damaged tissues of the pelvic floor.
The attorney general’s lawsuit alleges Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon violated the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act. It seeks civil penalties and a permanent injunction to prevent the companies from marketing, advertising, promoting, offering for sale, distributing, or selling their surgical mesh products in West Virginia.
Read a copy of the filed complaint at http://bit.ly/2klEzO4.
