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Urinary incontinence risk higher after vaginal birth
Feb 29, 2016 | Bel Marra Health News
By Emily Lunardo
A new study conducted by Finnish researchers has found that the risk of urinary incontinence raises slightly after vaginal birth, compared to women who deliver their children through C-section. -
Endo International to Close Astora Women’s Health Due to Lawsuit Concerns
Feb 29, 2016 | The Wall Street Journal
By Austen Hufford
...Endo said future product liability concerns led to the closure. The division has been facing lawsuits related to its vaginal mesh products. -
Endo shutting down its women's health division
Feb 29, 2016 | Philadelphia Business Journal
By John George
...Endo (NASDAQ: ENDP) and other medical manufacturers who make vaginal mesh products have been sued by patients allegedly injured by the makers of such products used to treat a variety of medical conditions including urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. -
Here’s Why Endo Int’l (ENDP) Stock is Tumbling Today
Mar 1, 2016 | TheStreet
By Kaya Yurieff
...The Dublin-based specialty healthcare company said the closure is to reduce future product liability concerns. The segment has been facing lawsuits related to its vaginal mesh products in recent years, the Wall Street Journal noted. -
Late selling leaves stocks down for third straight month
Mar 1, 2016 | The Associated Press
By Marley Jay
...The drug and medical device company Endo lost $11.13, or 21 percent, to $41.81 after the company said it will wind down its Astora women's health business and set aside $834 million to cover costs from possible product liability lawsuits over vaginal mesh implants, which have been linked to thousands of injuries.
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Urinary incontinence risk higher after vaginal birth
Feb 29, 2016 | Bel Marra Health News
By Emily Lunardo
A new study conducted by Finnish researchers has found that the risk of urinary incontinence raises slightly after vaginal birth, compared to women who deliver their children through C-section. The U.S. researchers stress the fact that C-section delivery comes with its own lists of risks, so choosing the right form of delivery should be up to the woman and doctors.
Women are often affected by urinary incontinence, with known risk factors for the condition including age, obesity, and childbirth, and yet the long-term effects of childbirth on urinary incontinence have long been unknown.
The researchers analyzed data from 16 studies where they found that vaginal childbirth was associated with an eight percent higher risk of urinary incontinence later on in life – that’s two times higher than cesarean delivery.
The association was found to be higher in younger women and decreased the longer the time from childbirth.
Coauthors Riikka Tahtinen and Kari Tikkinen said that the study, “provides important information about the causes of urgency and stress urinary incontinence in women … and [will] help women and their physicians make decisions regarding mode of delivery.”
The researchers also suggest that although C-section delivery has a lower risk of urinary incontinence, the other risks associated with that form of delivery outweigh the benefits.
Tahtinen explained, “A planned cesarean section increases the baby’s risk of needing emergency care and the mother’s risk of developing blood clot, bleeding as well as uterine rupture and placental adhesion disorders in subsequent pregnancies.”
Findings suggest that C-section deliveries account for 33 percent of U.S. deliveries.
Researchers suggest that doctors should inform women about the risks and benefits of both vaginal and C-section deliveries to help them choose which option is best for them.
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Endo International to Close Astora Women’s Health Due to Lawsuit Concerns
Feb 29, 2016 | The Wall Street Journal
By Austen Hufford
Endo International PLC said it would shutter its litigation-burdened Astora Women’s Health division at the end of March after failing to find a buyer.
Endo said future product liability concerns led to the closure. The division has been facing lawsuits related to its vaginal mesh products. Endo and other medical manufacturers have been hit with lawsuits after injuries linked to the inserts raised safety concerns. Vaginal mesh products are intended to treat pelvic organ prolapse as well as urinary incontinence.
The drug company said it had increased its product liability accrual related to the cases by $834 million due to a higher-than-expected number of claims processed and additional settlements. In August, the company said it had set aside $1.53 billion for the cases in total.
Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration said it would tighten regulations for the products, following years of scrutiny by the U.S. regulator and many patient lawsuits. The products will be reclassified as high-risk rather than moderate-risk medical devices when used in procedures that go through the vagina to repair organ prolapse. The FDA will require all manufacturers to submit data to support the effectiveness and safety of such devices before they are allowed on the market.
Endo entered the market after its 2011 acquisition of urology-product unit American Medical Systems Holding Inc., which manufactures the products. In October, Endo said it was renaming its American Medical Systems’s Women’s Health division to Astora Women’s Health.
Last March, Endo said it was evaluating strategic options for the division. On Monday, Endo said it had received formal bids for the division but ultimately decided that the litigation risk of continued operations was too high. The company will work with doctors to help them transition to alternative products.
The company also released quarterly results Monday, reporting better-than-expected adjusted earnings and acquisition-driven revenue increases in its fourth quarter.
Endo, which had relocated to Ireland from Pennsylvania, is one of several drug companies lately using lower-tax foreign addresses as springboards for acquisitions in the U.S., which has one of the world’s highest corporate tax rates.
Endo said it expects 2016 annual revenue to be between $4.32 billion and $4.52 billion. It expects adjusted earnings per share to range from $5.85 to $6.20. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect revenue of $4.67 billion and per-share profit of $6.02.
The company also said it recorded a $997 million tax benefit primarily due to a worthless stock deduction directly attributable to the mesh product liability losses.
Endo reported a third-quarter loss of $118.5 million, or 53 cents a share, compared with a loss of $53.5 million, or 34 cents a share a year earlier.
Excluding the mesh lawsuit charges and tax benefit, Endo’s adjusted earnings from continuing operations grew to $1.36 a share from $1.16 a share a year earlier. Revenue increased 62% to $1.07 billion.
Analysts had expected adjusted earnings of $1.27 a share on revenue of $1.07 million.
In May, Endo agreed to buy rival drugmaker Par Pharmaceutical Holdings Inc. for $8 billion. The acquisition is slated to add nearly 100 products, including a number of more expensive injectable medicines, to Endo’s portfolio of more than 700 generic medicines. In recent years Endo has also purchased Pennsylvania-based Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc. and DAVA Pharmaceuticals Inc. of New Jersey.
Endo’s U.S. generics sales increased 81% to $609.2 million as U.S. Branded pharmaceutical sales jumped 54% to $379.4 million.
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Endo shutting down its women's health division
Feb 29, 2016 | Philadelphia Business Journal
By John George
Endo International said Monday it is winding down its Astora Women’s Health division after failing to find a buyer for the business.
The company said it will cease business operations for Astora, based in Eden Prairie, Minn, by March 31 in part to “reduce the potential for product liability related to future mesh implants.”
Endo (NASDAQ: ENDP) and other medical manufacturers who make vaginal mesh products have been sued by patients allegedly injured by the makers of such products used to treat a variety of medical conditions including urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.
The company's stock closed down 21 percent to $41.81 per share Monday.
In August, Endo said it had set aide $1.53 billion for potential litigation and settlement costs, and the company said Monday it took an additional $834 million pre-tax charge during the fourth quarter related to vaginal mesh cases.
Endo, which is based in Dublin, Ireland, and has its U.S. headquarters in Malvern, said it will work with physicians to support their transition to alternative products.
The company, as part of its strategy to focus on global sales of its branded and generic pharmaceutical products, sold off its men’s and prostate health businesslast year to Boston Scientific in a deal valued at up to $1.65 billion.
Endo entered the urology device market in 2011 when it bought American Medical Systems Holding Inc. for $2.9 billion in 2011.
Last year, Endo bought rival generic drug manufacturer Par Pharmaceutical Holdings Inc. for $8 billion.
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Here’s Why Endo Int’l (ENDP) Stock is Tumbling Today
Mar 1, 2016 | TheStreet
By Kaya Yurieff
Shares of Endo International (ENDP - Get Report) are plunging 20.83% to $41.91 on heavy trading volume in afternoon trading on Monday after the company said it will close its Astora Women's Health division by the end of March after failing to find a buyer.
The Dublin-based specialty healthcare company said the closure is to reduce future product liability concerns. The segment has been facing lawsuits related to its vaginal mesh products in recent years, the Wall Street Journal noted.
Endo and other medical manufacturers have been dealt lawsuits after injuries connected to the inserts prompted safety concerns, the Journal added. Vaginal mesh products treat pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence.
"Endo will conduct a wind down process and work efficiently to support physicians in transitioning to alternative products," the company said in a statement this morning.
Additionally, the company reported its 2015 fourth quarter results before today's market open.
The drug maker posted adjusted earnings of $1.36 per diluted share, beating analysts' expectations of $1.27 per share. Revenue for the period was $1.07 billion, in line with Wall Street's estimates.
Endo also raised its mesh product liability accrual by $834 million during the fourth quarter because of a higher-than-expected number of claims and additional settlements of vaginal mesh cases.
About 12.64 million of the company's shares were traded by this afternoon, well above its average volume of 3.93 million shares per day.
Separately, TheStreet Ratings Team has a "Hold" rating with a score of C on the stock.
The primary factors that have impacted the rating are mixed - some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks.
"The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, expanding profit margins and notable return on equity.
As a counter to these strengths, the team also finds weaknesses including unimpressive growth in net income, generally higher debt management risk and weak operating cash flow.
Recently, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author.
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Late selling leaves stocks down for third straight month
Mar 1, 2016 | The Associated Press
By Marley Jay
Late-day selling sent U.S. stocks to a loss Monday and erased nearly all of the market's gains for the month.
Weak earnings for drug companies pushed health care stocks lower, and energy shares fell as natural gas plunged.
Investors lost enthusiasm for stocks after two straight weekly gains. Health care stocks fell furthest as drugmakers Endo International, Mylan and Mallinckrodt all slumped.
Oil prices rose, but natural gas hit a 17-year low. Banks lost ground, partly because investors are worried about potential losses on loans to energy companies.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 123.47 points, or 0.7 percent, to 16,516.50. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 15.82 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,932.23. The Nasdaq composite index fell 32.52 points, or 0.7 percent, to 4,557.95.
Monday's loss pushed the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to a loss for February, their third monthly loss in a row. The Dow eked out a gain of 0.3 percent for its first positive month since November.
John Manley, chief equity strategist for Wells Fargo Fund Management, said investors are nervous. "A lot of investors have fantastic profits from three or four years [of gains] and they also have terrible memories from seven or eight years ago," he said. "Why not sell first and ask questions later?"
The drug and medical device company Endo lost $11.13, or 21 percent, to $41.81 after the company said it will wind down its Astora women's health business and set aside $834 million to cover costs from possible product liability lawsuits over vaginal mesh implants, which have been linked to thousands of injuries.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals slid after the company withdrew its financial forecasts. The stock gave up $14.85, or 18.4 percent, to $65.80. Mallinckrodt declined $4.21, or 6.1 percent, to $65.03.
With stocks on shaky ground, precious metals prices improved. The price of gold has climbed nearly 11 percent this month.
Gold is seen as a safe investment when the market gets rough, and Steven Dunn, the head of ETF Securities' U.S. division, said investors are now more worried about the global markets than they have been in several years.
"When there is turmoil in the world, people do come back to gold as sort of that safe port," he said.
The price of gold rose 1 percent Monday to $1,234.40 an ounce. Over the last two weeks gold has traded near it highest price in a year.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 97 cents, or 3 percent, to $33.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the global benchmark, gained 87 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $35.97 a barrel in London.
Natural gas prices skidded 4 percent to $1.71 per 1,000 cubic feet, its lowest level since March of 1999. In a research note, Commodity Weather Group said it expects a "super warm pattern" to start in about a week. That will lead to less demand for heat as the winter comes to a close.
In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline rose 3 cents to $1.05 a gallon and heating oil rose 2 cents to $1.08 a gallon.
Global stocks were mixed.
Policymakers at a weekend meeting of the Group of 20 rich and developing countries promised to use "all tools" at their disposal to bolster weak global growth, but they didn't announce any specific moves.
Some relief emerged with the news that China's monetary authorities had cut the amount of deposits that banks have to keep in reserve at the central bank. That should free up cash for banks to lend. The government also guided the yuan lower.
Germany's DAX slipped 0.2 percent, while the FTSE 100 index of British shares remained unchanged. The CAC-40 in France rose 0.9 percent. The yen's strength weighed on Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225, which fell 1 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 2.9 percent after the yuan's decline.
Stock markets in Europe were helped somewhat by news that inflation across the eurozone turned negative in February as consumer prices fell. The euro fell because traders expect further monetary stimulus from the European Central Bank at its meeting on March 10.
n other metals trading, silver prices edged up 21 cents to $14.90 an ounce. Copper rose 1 cent to $2.13 a pound.
Bond prices rose and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped to 1.75 percent from 1.76 percent. The euro fell to $1.0875 from $1.0928 and the dollar fell to 112.95 yen from 113.90 yen.
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