Endo Pays $830 Million to Settle Vaginal Mesh Suits

Add Endo International to the list of medical device companies throwing in the towel on vaginal mesh-related lawsuits. The company recently announced it is settling about 20,000 claims to the tune of about $830 millionDublin, Ireland-based Endo, which has its U.S. headquarters in Malvern, PA, announced Wednesday that it has reached agreements in principle with several leading plaintiffs' law firms, including Motley Rice LLC; Blasingame Burch Garrard Ashley PC, Levin Simes LLP, and Clark, Love & Hutson.Vaginal mesh devices were supposed to treat urinary incontinence. But the FDA from 2008 through 2010 received reports of thousands of serious complications, including mesh erosion through the vagina, pain, infection, bleeding, pain during sexual intercourse (dyspareunia), organ perforation, and urinary problems.Other companies that have faced lawsuits over vaginal mesh products include Johnson & Johnson's Ethicon subsidiary, American Medical Systems, Boston Scientific Corp., C.R. Bard, Cook Medical, and Coloplast.Coloplast earlier this year agreed to pay about $16 million to settle about 400 cases involving its transvaginal mesh implants, and C.R. Bard has been settling some suits.

Endo International admitted no liability or fault in its settlement, which will be paid over time. Endo previously established a product liability reserve of roughly $520 million. Now it expects an incremental pre-tax, non-cash charge of about $625 million in the first quarter of 2014, increasing the product liability accrual to roughly $1.1 billion in total, which will likely be paid through 2016.

Chris Newmarker is senior editor of MPMN and Qmed. Follow him on Twitter at @newmarker.