By Diana Novak Jones
July 2 (Reuters) – A jury in St. Louis on Thursday rejected claims that Reckitt unit Mead Johnson’s specialized formula for preterm babies was to blame for causing an infant’s dangerous bowel disease.
The Missouri state court jury sided with Mead Johnson in a lawsuit brought by an Illinois mother, Cadence Collins. She claimed her daughter was left with lifelong injuries after she contracted necrotizing enterocolitis as a result of consuming Mead Johnson’s product.
The disease, which mostly affects premature newborns, causes the death of bowel tissue and has an estimated mortality rate of more than 20%.
The trial is the latest to test claims made in nearly 1,000 similar lawsuits filed against Enfamil manufacturer Mead Johnson as well as Abbott Laboratories , which makes Similac formulas. More than 700 of the cases are centralized in an Illinois federal court, with others pending in state courts including Illinois, Missouri and Pennsylvania.
“We strongly reject any assertion that any of our specialized preterm hospital nutrition products cause NEC,” Mead Johnson said in a statement.
The companies have said that while breast milk protects against the bowel disease, their formulas do not cause it and the benefits of breast milk have long been known to clinicians.
Attorneys for Collins said they disagreed with the verdict and would evaluate all options on behalf of their client.
The products in question are cow’s milk-based formula and products for fortifying mother’s milk that are specially made for infants in hospital settings, not ordinary formula available to consumers in stores.
Abbott CEO Robert Ford suggested in 2024 that the preterm products might become unavailable because of the litigation.
The companies have had a mixed record in the few cases to go to trial thus far, with some juries siding with the companies and others with the parents.
Last month, an Illinois appeals court reversed a $60 million verdict against Mead Johnson over claims the company failed to warn that its products for premature babies could cause necrotizing enterocolitis, saying the jury wasn’t properly instructed on the law.
(Reporting by Diana Novak Jones; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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