J&J Fined on Mesh Device -- WSJ

By Peter Loftus

This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (January 31, 2020).

A California judge ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $344 million in a lawsuit in which state officials accused the company of deceptively marketing surgical mesh devices for use in pelvic procedures in women.

Then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris sued J&J and its Ethicon unit in 2016, saying the company marketed its mesh devices as being safe treatments for conditions including stress urinary incontinence, but concealed or misrepresented serious risks such as chronic pain and sexual dysfunction.

The lawsuit said J&J's behavior violated state laws against unfair competition and false advertising.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Eddie Sturgeon on Thursday ordered the company to pay the penalty, after a trial in 2019.

"J&J knew the dangers but put its profits ahead of the health of millions of women," California's current attorney general, Xavier Becerra, said in a statement. "Today we achieved justice for the women forever scarred by this dishonesty."

J&J said it would appeal the decision, a process that could take one to three years. J&J said its Ethicon business "responsibly communicated the risks and benefits of its transvaginal mesh products to doctors and patients." The company said that during the 2019 trial, the state failed to present evidence proving that any California doctor or patient was actually or likely to be misled by any communication from Ethicon.

J&J has previously settled some other litigation over the safety of its mesh devices, including an October 2019 agreement to pay $116.9 million to 41 states and the District of Columbia. J&J didn't admit liability or misconduct in that settlement.

About 19,800 plaintiffs had lawsuits pending against J&J as of Sept. 29, 2019, alleging pelvic meshes caused injuries.

J&J is facing lawsuits from a total of about 100,000 plaintiffs over the safety and marketing of a range of products including opioids and baby powder.

Write to Peter Loftus at peter.loftus@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 31, 2020 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)

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