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1. Bloomberg: Bard offers latest vaginal mesh settlement for $200M

   Aug 5, 2015 | Fierce Medical Device

   By Stacy Lawrence
   
   
   C.R. Bard ($BCR) has settled 3,000 cases by women injured from its vaginal mesh for more than $200 million. This is the latest in a parade of large settlements in recent months over the implants, which are said to cause pain and internal damage...
2. Report: Bard to pay $200m to settle mesh cases

   Aug 5, 2015 | Mass Device

   By Brad Perriello
   
   
   C.R. Bard (NYSE:BCR) reportedly agreed to pay more than $200 million to resolve at least 3,000 product liability lawsuits brought by women who claim they were injured by its pelvic mesh inserts.

Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel

Online Sources

1. Bloomberg: Bard offers latest vaginal mesh settlement for $200M

   Aug 5, 2015 | Fierce Medical Device

   By Stacy Lawrence

   C.R. Bard ($BCR) has settled 3,000 cases by women injured from its vaginal mesh for more than $200 million. This is the latest in a parade of large settlements in recent months over the implants, which are said to cause pain and internal damage, from the likes of Endo International ($ENDP), Medtronic ($MDT), Boston Scientific ($BSX) and Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ).

   The Bard settlement addresses about one-fifth of the outstanding lawsuits related to the vaginal inserts, Bloomberg reported. They are typically used in older women who have experienced vaginal prolapse during surgical repair.

   Despite the slew of lawsuits, settlements and the FDA recently cleared a new tranvaginal mesh product and companies, including Bard, continue to market the surgical inserts. The agency hasn't been quick to act. Since 2011, it has said that serious complications for transvaginal repair of pelvic organ prolapse are not rare--and that it's not clear that the use of mesh in that repair is more effective than a surgical repair that does not include the use of mesh.

   In addition, the FDA is in the midst of considering a reclassification of pelvic mesh from a moderate risk, or class II device, to a high-risk device, which is class III and requires a full premarket approval (PMA) application.

   In the Bard cases, a judge had advised late last year that the company aggregate and settle them. The plaintiffs will each get about $67,000, which is more than the average $43,000 payout in a smaller deal last year, Bloombergnoted. But some individuals have been awarded millions for a single case, depending solely on jury decisions.

   Bard CFO and SVP Christopher Holland said on the company's latest earnings call that it took a $344 million charge during the second quarter, "primarily related to pelvic health product litigation."

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2. Report: Bard to pay $200m to settle mesh cases

   Aug 5, 2015 | Mass Device

   By Brad Perriello

   C.R. Bard (NYSE:BCR) reportedly agreed to pay more than $200 million to resolve at least 3,000 product liability lawsuits brought by women who claim they were injured by its pelvic mesh inserts.

   The settlement resolves about a fifth of the outstanding suits related to the implants, which bolster sagging organs and treat incontinence, according to Bloomberg, which cited “5 people familiar with the accord.”

   The plaintiffs would receive about $67,000 per case, according to the unnamed sources. Although more than the $43,000 average Bard agreed to in a smaller deal last year, it’s much less than the $2 million awarded by a West Virginia jury in 2013.

   Judge Joseph Goodwin of the U.S. District Court for Southern West Virginia, who is overseeing the multi-district litigation involving thousands of pelvic mesh lawsuits, has urged Bard to consider large-scale settlements.

   “The Bard folks finally decided to listen to Judge Goodwin and settle before they get hit with a bunch of multimillion-dollar verdicts that could bankrupt the company,” Carl Tobias, who teaches product-liability law at Virginia’s University of Richmond, told Bloomberg.

   Murray Hill, N.J.-based Bard added $337 million to its $660 million reserve for product-liability cases while acknowledging it had resolved 2,800 cases over “Women’s Health Products,” according to a July 24 SEC filing.

   “There’s still a quite a lot of liability given they’ve only settled about a third of the cases, but I think the company is well enough financially to not have an issue settling these cases,” Jason Wittes, an analyst with Brean Capital, told the news service via email.

   “We’ve been talking,” but haven’t reached a deal with Bard regarding other cases that are still pending, plaintiffs’ attorney Joe Rice added.

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