Abbott faces trial over claims that preterm infant formula caused
dangerous disease
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[July 08, 2024]
By Brendan Pierson
(Reuters) - Similac baby formula maker Abbott is expected to face a
trial on Monday over claims that its formula for preterm infants used in
neonatal intensive care units causes a potentially deadly bowel disease,
the second trial out of hundreds of similar lawsuits in the United
States.
Lawyers for the company and for Illinois resident Margo Gill will make
their opening statements to jurors in St. Louis, Missouri, and the trial
is expected to last most of the rest of the month. Gill alleges in the
lawsuit that her premature infant child developed necrotizing
enterocolitis (NEC) as a result of being fed Abbott's products for
premature babies.
NEC, which causes the death of bowel tissue, mostly affects newborns and
has a fatality rate of between 15% and 40%. Gill's child survived, but
suffers long-term health problems, according to the lawsuit.
Like all of the lawsuits over NEC, the case involves formula and
products for fortifying mother's milk given to infants in hospital
settings, not ordinary formula available to consumers in stores.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Jul/08/images/ads/current/ldn_smallsda_BUSINESSMAG_2023.png)
"Specialized formulas and fortifiers, like the one in this case, are
considered part of the standard of care by the medical community and,
along with human milk, are the only available options to feed premature
infants," Abbott said in a statement.
The company said that Gill's child "suffered from a traumatic brain
injury in utero and at birth, long before she was fed any Abbott
products," and that "no one is to blame" for her condition.
Close to 1,000 lawsuits have been filed against Abbott, Enfamil formula
maker Reckitt Benckiser or both in federal or state courts alleging that
cow's milk-based formula products for premature infants caused NEC. More
than 500 are centralized in an Illinois federal court, with others
pending in Illinois, Missouri and Pennsylvania.
The lawsuits claim that the companies failed to warn that infants given
their products are at greater risk of NEC compared to infants who are
breast-fed or given donor milk or human milk-derived formula.
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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
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Jul/08/images/ads/current/aeps_lda_013124.png) Reckitt and a lawyer for the
plaintiffs did not immediately comment.
The first lawsuit to go to trial, against Reckitt
in Illinois, ended with a $60 million jury verdict in March. Reckitt
is appealing that verdict and has argued that the plaintiff's case
relied on unsound expert testimony.
The litigation has concerned investors. Reckitt's share price fell
about 15% after the verdict, and Abbott's about 4%. Both stocks have
remained depressed, although analysts at JPMorgan and Barclays have
said they believe the companies' ultimate liability is likely to be
small.
The NEC Society, a patient-led non-profit organization working to
combat the disease, has criticized the lawsuits, saying that
"feeding decisions should be made at patients' bedsides, not in
courtrooms." The group has no financial or other relationship with
Abbott or Reckitt, according to a spokesperson.
The NEC lawsuits are separate from ongoing litigation against Abbott
over the shutdown of its Sturgis, Michigan, plant and subsequent
recall of batches of baby formula for possible contamination, which
contributed to a nationwide formula shortage in 2022. There have
been no trials in those cases.
(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York, Editing by Alexia
Garamfalvi and Josie Kao)
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