Abbott Labs must face lawsuit over PediaSure height claims
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[February 03, 2024]
By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A judge has rejected Abbott Laboratories' effort to
dismiss a New York City grandmother's lawsuit claiming it misled
consumers into believing its PediaSure Grow & Gain nutrition drinks were
"clinically proven" to help children grow taller.
U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan said on Friday that
Joanne Noriega's complaint set forth "strong, evidence-backed reasons"
to doubt Abbott's claim that clinical studies supported its marketing
claims.
Noriega cited three studies funded by Abbott itself that found no
connection between PediaSure and growth in height.
"The existence of studies contradicting the label's claim reinforce the
plausibility of the complaint's allegation that the label would mislead
a reasonable consumer," Engelmayer wrote.
Abbott and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for
comment after business hours.
Noriega, from Bronx, New York, said she had bought PediaSure Grow & Gain
vanilla and strawberry drinks for her 8-year-old grandson, who was
"short for his age," believing they would help him get taller. She said
that after a year of drinking two PediaSure drinks per day, her grandson
was still short but had become "so overweight" that she stopped buying
the drinks.
James Denlea, a lawyer for Noriega, said in an interview he was pleased
with the decision, which lets his client gather more evidence through
the discovery process.
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Abbott Laboratories logo is displayed on a screen at the New York
Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., October 18, 2021.
REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
Abbott had access to studies that
"completely debunked any notion that its milkshake could help
children grow," Denlea said. "The marketing was misleading, and
Abbott knew that to be the case."
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for New Yorkers who were
deceived into buying or overpaying for PediaSure.
Abbott has said PediaSure is intended for children ages 2 to 13, and
helps them "grow out of at-risk weight-for-height percentiles
(5th-25th percentiles)" within eight weeks.
PediaSure is part of the Abbott Park, Illinois-based company's
pediatric nutritional segment, which also includes Pedialyte and
Similac.
The case is Noriega v Abbott Laboratories, U.S. District Court,
Southern District of New York, No. 23-04014.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)
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