FMC says U.S. wrongful death lawsuits to be consolidated

Dec 13 (Reuters) – Fresenius Medical Care , the world’s largest dialysis group, said a group of plaintiffs in the United States had moved to consolidate wrongful death lawsuits against the company over its NaturaLyte and GranuFlo products.

The suits generally allege that the two products carried inadequate labeling and warnings, causing harm to patients, FMC said, adding that it considered the suits to be without merit and was vigorously defending against them.

The company’s chief executive Ben Lipps said in a statement that FMC’s actions related to the products were appropriate and responsible.

“Both products are safe and effective and were reviewed and cleared by the Food and Drug Administration several years ago,” he said.

“I am confident of our position on this medical issue,” he said.

FMC’s North American subsidiary received a subpoena from the Massachusetts district attorney on Dec. 7 requesting documents in the case and was cooperating fully, the company said.