Bard (company)

C. R. Bard, Inc., headquartered in Murray Hill, New Jersey, USA, was a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of medical technologies in the vascular medicine, urology, oncology, and surgical specialty fields. C. R. Bard marketed its products and services worldwide to hospitals, individual health care professionals, extended care facilities, and alternate site facilities. An S&P 500 company with approximately 14,000 employees in 2015, Bard is perhaps best known for having introduced the Foley catheter in 1934.

In April 2017, C. R. Bard announced that it would be acquired by Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD).[4] The transaction was completed later that year,[5] and the company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of BD, rebranded as Bard.

History

C. R. Bard, Inc. was founded in New York City by Charles R. Bard in 1907. Bard's first business involved importing Gomenol, which was used to treat urinary discomfort.[6]

Legal issues

Illegal kickback settlement

In 2006, a complaint was filed against C. R. Bard, alleging that the company paid illegal kickbacks to both physicians and consumers. In 2013, Bard agreed to pay $48.26 million to resolve the allegations relating to submitting false claims to Medicare.[9]

Vaginal mesh devices

The transvaginal mesh is a device that is surgically implanted into the vagina to strengthen pelvic muscles or organs, or to treat incontinence.

By 2010, Bard and other makers of vaginal mesh were being sued by women who alleged that the devices were responsible for their medical pain and injuries. Their legal cases cited poor design and unsafe materials, and claimed that some patients required "multiple surgeries to remove" the device.[10] In 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required that Bard and other manufacturers study the rates of organ damage linked to the mesh devices.[10]

Although Bard maintained that their vaginal mesh was "safe and effective", they began negotiations in 2013 to settle the nearly 30,000 legal claims.[11] By August 2015, Bard had agreed to pay more than $200 million, thereby resolving about one-fifth of the outstanding lawsuits at that time.[10]

Inferior vena cava (IVC) filters

An inferior vena cava filter (or "blood clot filter") is a device that is percutaneously implanted in the IVC. It is used to prevent deep-vein blood clots in the legs from moving into the heart or lungs (a condition that can be fatal).

Introduced in 2002, Bard's Recovery brand IVC filter was associated with 27 deaths and several hundred non-fatal problems. A "confidential study commissioned by Bard showed that the Recovery filter had higher rates of relative risk for death, filter fracture and movement than all of its competitors." Bard never recalled the Recovery filter, but instead developed G2 series filters to replace it.[12]

On December 31, 2015, NBC News released their investigation of the G2 series filters. According to the NBC report, the G2 filter was just a modified version of the Recovery filter with "similar and potentially fatal flaws". Bard was reported to be aware of this shortly after the G2 was put on the market, but rather than recalling the filters, kept them on the market for five years. According to Bard and FDA records, at least 12 deaths and hundreds of problems had been linked to the G2 series filters.[12]

In 2018, an Arizona court ordered Bard to pay $1.6 million to a plaintiff for injuries sustained from a G2 IVC filter implanted in 2007, plus an additional $2 million in punitive damages.

type	Subsidiary
founder	Charles Russell Bard
area served	Worldwide
key people	Timothy M. Ring (chairman) & (CEO)
products	Vascular, Urology, Oncology, and Surgical Specialties
revenue	▲US$2.72B (FY 2010) ‡R1R‡
operating income	▲US$730M (FY 2010) ‡R1R‡
net income	▲US$509M (FY 2010) ‡R1R‡
assets	US$3.17B (FY 2010) ‡R2R‡
equity	US$1.63B (FY 2010) ‡R2R‡
num employees	14,000 (2015)‡R3R‡
parent	Becton, Dickinson and Company
foundation	1907
location	New Providence, New Jersey, U.S.

History

Legal issues

Illegal kickback settlement

Vaginal mesh devices

Inferior vena cava (IVC) filters

External links

References