Plaintiffs Failed to Adequately Plead Off-Label Promotion in S&N Hip Action, Pa. Federal Court Rules

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing Smith & Nephew Inc. of unlawfully encouraging surgeons to use its R3 metal liner with its R3 Acetabular hip implant system, holding that plaintiffs failed to sufficiently plead a plausible parallel claim based on off-label promotion.

On Sept. 29, Judge Juan R. Sanchez of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania found the third amended complaint fails to plead facts from which it can reasonably be inferred that S&N affirmatively promoted the R3 metal liner for off-label use in total hip replacement procedures.

On April 29, …