Major medical supplies manufacturer allegedly linked to numerous offenses

Washington (AFP) – The US group Medtronic, a world leader in medical technology, could be responsible for 9,300 deaths and 292,000 injuries in the United States alone, according to an analysis published Sunday by a group international journalists.

Reports submitted to US regulators last year indicate that one in five medical implants using Medtronic products has proven problematic, twice as much as any other competing company, according to a far-reaching analysis. conducted by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

The ICIJ survey, titled "Implant Files" and based on contributions from journalists from 36 countries, revealed that the Japanese, Norwegian and Australian authorities had also identified Medtronic products as the source of the largest number of complaints during last five years.

Among the results: Since 2008, insulin pumps or their components manufactured by Medtronic for diabetics have potentially been implicated in more than 2,600 deaths and 150,000 injuries in the United States.

ICIJ reporters interviewed patients or family members of victims in Finland, Germany, Canada, India and the United States. They said Medtronic was slow to provide answers about insulin pump problems – and did not always tell them about their risks.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which oversees these products, said that it should not be surprising that the leading producer of medical instruments is also the subject of the biggest number of complaints since it produces the largest number of devices, said ICIJ.

But in a long article on its website, the consortium lists many cases in which Medtronic has been charged with legal or ethical offenses, that's questionable uses of its implants or suspicious relationships with doctors who use the products or who are late. studies about them.

In a written response to ICIJ, Rob Clark, spokesman for Medtronic, insisted that patient well-being was the company's top priority and that Medtronic was meeting "the highest standards in ethical practice ".

"The allegations are not facts and should not be interpreted as suggesting that Medtronic has violated our legal, ethical or regulatory obligations in any way," Clark said, adding that any medical product has high level of risk.

Medtronic manufactures devices to control diabetes, manage chronic pain and relieve Parkinson's disease, and has invented a wireless pacemaker the size of a vitamin pill.

ICIJ said the medical device industry, worth US $ 400, had developed life-saving products, while claiming that she also had " pushed or broken the legal and ethical boundaries ".

Washington-based ICIJ brings together ad hoc contributors of journalists from around the world to investigate issues of global concern. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 2017 for a series entitled "Panama Papers", an exhibition on offshore tax havens.