Conn. to get $1.8M in settlement with medical-device manufacturer
Connecticut will receive approximately $1.8 million from a nearly $189 million settlement that 47 states and the District of Columbia have reached with Boston Scientific Corp., to resolve allegations that the company deceptively marketed transvaginal surgical-mesh products, state officials announced Wednesday.
Boston Scientific misled millions of women through marketing that disguised the dangers of surgical mesh, with thousands of women suffering serious complications, alleged state Attorney General William Tong.
In addition to the fine, the settlement requires Boston Scientific to undertake marketing, training and clinical-trial reforms to “ensure this type of preventable and unacceptable tragedy never happens again,” Tong
said in a statement.
Surgical mesh is a synthetic woven fabric implanted in the pelvic floor through the vagina to treat common health conditions including stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. Such conditions are due to a weakening in pelvicfloor muscles caused by factors including childbirth and age.
“This case is another example of the serious consequences deceptive advertising can have on consumers,” state Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle Seagull said in a statement. “The terms of this settlement are an important step toward protecting women from further harm due to the poor marketing and misrepresentation of the risks associated with surgical mesh by Boston Scientific.”
The state alleges that Marlborough, Mass.-headquartered Boston Scientific misrepresented the safety of its products by failing to fully disclose “potential serious and irreversible complications” caused by mesh, including chronic pain, voiding dysfunction and the new onset of incontinence.
“We feel this settlement, which is not an admission of misconduct or liability, is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders,” Boston Scientific said in a statement. “We are pleased to resolve this dispute and to continue focusing on delivering innovative products and solutions to physicians and patients.”
The investigation that resulted in the settlement was led by California and Washington along with Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas.
From Connecticut’s $1.8 million settlement share, $200,000 and $100,000 will, respectively, be allocated to funds maintained by the Attorney General’s Office and Department of Consumer Protection that support consumer-protection programs. The remainder of the settlement money will go to the state’s general fund.
During the past year and a half, Connecticut has reached two other, similar settlements related to allegedly deceptive marketing of transvaginal surgical-mesh devices.
Last September, it joined a 48state agreement that required C.R. Bard Inc., and its parent company Becton, Dickinson and Co., to pay $60 million.
In October 2019, it participated in a 40-state settlement requiring Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Ethicon Inc., to pay nearly $117 million. employees that could total up to nearly $36 million. Those payments are being distributed among more than 600 people.
The following month, Judge Robert Drain signed off on a performance bonus of nearly $3 million for Landau, although that amount was $593,000 less than the amount originally proposed by Purdue.
Questions about HQ
Purdue’s re-organization plan also leaves unclear the new company’s headquarters location.
On Jan. 1, Purdue started a new three-year lease for about 104,000 square feet at 201 Tresser Blvd., in downtown Stamford. It ranked as the second-largest office-leasing transaction in Fairfield County in 2020.
The current lease involves less space than Purdue previously used at 201 Tresser, although the
company has declined to specify its previous square footage. It has been based since 2000 at 201 Tresser, which is also known as One Stamford Forum.
In response to Hearst Connecticut Media’s inquiry, Purdue officials declined to say whether the lease would also apply to the successor company.
The Sacklers represent the “beneficial owners” of the approximately 505,000-square-foot building at 201 Tresser, according to bankruptcy court records.
A message left for a spokesperson for the Sacklers was not immediately returned.
Other tenants at 201 Tresser include Charter Communications — the provider of Spectrum-branded cable, internet and phone services — which is headquartered in the adjacent building at 400 Atlantic St. Charter plans to open later this
year its new headquarters a few blocks away at 406 Washington Blvd.
During the past few years, 201 Tresser has periodically attracted protesters. On March 12, activist and former Stamford art gallery owner Fernando Luis Alvarez led a protest outside the building calling for the ouster of the Food & Drug Administration’s interim commissioner, Janet Woodcock.
Alvarez gained international attention in June 2018 after he was arrested for his role in a protest that involved the installation of an 800-pound spoon in front of 201 Tresser.
In a move apparently aimed at reducing its offices’ visibility, Purdue in 2019 removed all of its exterior signs at 201 Tresser.