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F.D.A. Halts U.S. Sales of Pelvic Mesh, Citing Safety Concerns for Women F.D.A. Halts U.S. Sales of Pelvic Mesh, Citing Safety Concerns for Women
(about 3 hours later)
The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday ordered the two remaining medical device companies selling surgical mesh for the repair of pelvic organ prolapse to stop all sales and distribution in the United States.The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday ordered the two remaining medical device companies selling surgical mesh for the repair of pelvic organ prolapse to stop all sales and distribution in the United States.
It was the most severe action the F.D.A. has taken in the protracted legal and medical battles over vaginal mesh, a synthetic product that has been implanted in millions of women to strengthen weakened pelvic muscles that can cause the bladder, the uterus and other organs to sag into the vaginal area. It is the most stringent action the F.D.A. has taken in the lengthy legal and medical battles over vaginal mesh, a synthetic product that has been implanted in millions of women to strengthen weakened pelvic muscles that can cause the bladder, the uterus and other organs to sag into the vaginal area.
The number of serious complications from the device has increased significantly over the years, prompting the F.D.A. to ask manufacturers to submit more evidence that the devices were safe and would benefit patients. The agency issued the decision against the two companies, Boston Scientific and Coloplast, at a time when multimillion-dollar verdicts against manufacturers of the devices continue to be awarded or upheld on appeal.
In announcing its decision on Tuesday, the F.D.A. said that the two manufacturers, Boston Scientific and Coloplast, had not demonstrated a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness for the devices. Litigation over pelvic mesh, also called transvaginal mesh, ranks as one of the largest mass tort cases in the nation’s history in terms of claims filed, number of corporate defendants and settlement dollars. Seven medical device manufacturers, including Boston Scientific and Johnson & Johnson, are paying nearly $8 billion to resolve the claims of more than 100,000 women.
For years, women and legal advocates have tried to persuade the F.D.A. that the pelvic mesh implant causes harm. As the number of serious complications increased significantly, the F.D.A. reclassified this type of pelvic mesh as high risk in 2016 and told manufacturers to submit more evidence that the devices were safe and would benefit patients with the condition.
In announcing its decision on Tuesday, the F.D.A. said that Boston Scientific and Coloplast, a Danish company, had not demonstrated a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness for the devices.
“In order for these mesh devices to stay on the market, we determined that we needed evidence that they worked better than surgery without the use of mesh to repair pelvic organ prolapse,” said Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, director of the F.D.A.’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “We couldn’t assure women that these devices were safe and effective long term.”“In order for these mesh devices to stay on the market, we determined that we needed evidence that they worked better than surgery without the use of mesh to repair pelvic organ prolapse,” said Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, director of the F.D.A.’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “We couldn’t assure women that these devices were safe and effective long term.”
Shanin Specter, a lawyer who has won several big jury verdicts against firms that manufactured the pelvic mesh, was pleased by the ban. Deborah Kotz, a spokeswoman for the agency, said the two medical device companies had 10 days to submit a plan for how the mesh devices will be withdrawn from the market.
“This is a good step forward,” he said. Shanin Specter, a lawyer who has won numerous big jury verdicts against firms that manufactured the pelvic mesh, said the F.D.A. should extend the decision to include mesh devices used for treatment of some urinary conditions.
The disputes over the safety of pelvic mesh have gone on for over a decade. Until Tuesday, the F.D.A. had never formally demanded the products be taken off the market, but had issued a number of warnings about the devices. The agency had reported earlier that it had received more than 10,000 complaints of serious injury and nearly 80 deaths as of last year. “This is a good step forward,” he said. “But mesh used to treat stress incontinence also continues to devastate thousands of women, and the F.D.A. should act decisively there, too.”
Worldwide, it has been estimated that nearly 10 million women have gotten mesh implants to treat weakening pelvic muscles and alleviate urinary incontinence. Roughly 10 to 15 percent have suffered complications, in some cases requiring the mesh to be removed in a second surgical procedure. In light of the warnings and complaints from women about severe pain and bleeding from mesh implants, a number of the manufacturers had voluntarily stopped selling them.
In all, more than 100,000 people filed claims against the major manufacturers in both federal and state court. The litigation has been costly to seven device manufacturers, including Johnson & Johnson and Boston Scientific, that made the products. Johnson & Johnson stopped selling them several years ago. The seven companies so far have agreed to pay out more than $8 billion.
But some of the women, who continue to suffer pain and urinary problems, even after the mesh is removed, have faulted the lawyers for taking too much of the settlement money.
Gynecologists have been implanting surgical mesh to repair pelvic organ prolapse since the 1970s, and began using it for transvaginal repair of the condition since the 1990s.
Boston Scientific, which had filed two applications for its devices, criticized the agency’s action.Boston Scientific, which had filed two applications for its devices, criticized the agency’s action.
“We are deeply disappointed by the F.D.A.’s decision on our premarket approval applications” for two products, said Kate Haranis, a spokeswoman for the company. The company, she added, believes “the inaccessibility of these products will severely limit treatment options for the 50 percent of women in the U.S. who will suffer from pelvic organ prolapse during their lives.” “We are deeply disappointed by the F.D.A.’s decision on our premarket approval applications” for two products, said Kate Haranis, a spokeswoman for the company. The company, she added, believes that “the inaccessibility of these products will severely limit treatment options for the 50 percent of women in the U.S. who will suffer from pelvic organ prolapse during their lives.”
Coloplast could not immediately be reached for comment. Ms. Haranis said its transvaginal mesh product portfolio accounts for roughly $25 million in sales annually, or about 1 percent of the company’s total sales. Its stock fell a little more than 4 percent on the news.
Lina Danstrup, a spokeswoman for Coloplast, said in an email that Restorelle DirectFix Anterior, the affected device, represents about 0.2 percent of group revenues.Coloplast’s stock also fell slightly on Tuesday.
Gynecologists have been implanting surgical mesh to repair pelvic organ prolapse since the 1970s, and they began using it for transvaginal repair of the condition in the 1990s. The mesh is implanted in the vaginal wall; complications have included bleeding, pain, inflammation and dislodging or protrusion through the wall that can cause infection. Many women have required a second surgery to repair the damage.
Mr. Specter said the mesh device used in pelvic organ prolapse surgery tends to be larger and more injury-producing than the devices used in surgery to treat stress urinary incontinence.
But even the small mesh devices have an unacceptably high complication rate, he said, in the range of 5 to 15 percent. “There was never a need for these mesh products,” he said, noting that there is an alternative surgical procedure using a patient’s own tissue.
The disputes over the safety of pelvic mesh have gone on for more than a decade. Until Tuesday, the F.D.A. had never formally demanded that the products be taken off the market, but it had issued several warnings about the devices. The agency said earlier that it had received reports of more than 10,000 complaints of serious injury and nearly 80 deaths as of last year.
Women who have already had the devices implanted and are not having problems with them should not take any action, other than to continue regular doctor visits, Ms. Kotz, the F.D.A. spokeswoman, said.
It has been estimated that nearly 10 million women worldwide have received mesh implants to treat weakening pelvic muscles and alleviate urinary incontinence. Roughly 10 to 15 percent have suffered complications, in some cases requiring the mesh to be removed.
In light of the litigation, warnings and complaints from women about severe pain and bleeding from mesh implants, some manufacturers, including Johnson & Johnson, had voluntarily stopped selling them.
More than 100,000 people filed claims against the major manufacturers in federal and state courts. Although some of the settlement figures have been large, women have complained that lawyers have taken a lot of the settlement money. Documents reviewed by The New York Times and interviews indicated that the average settlement for each woman was less than $60,000.
“If this had happened at the very outset of the litigation, we might have seen higher settlement values,” said Elizabeth Chamblee Burch, a law professor at the University of Georgia and an expert in pelvic mesh litigation. “It could help with the remaining cases. The plaintiffs themselves see this as a pretty huge victory and a victory that they wish had come a lot sooner.”
In recent years, sales of the pelvic mesh had declined as companies stopped selling the devices and the costs of litigation mounted. From 2010 to 2017, sales in the United States amounted to about $600 million, according to some estimates.