The CEO of Abbott Laboratories defended the company’s infant formula products Thursday – remarks that came as a trial continues this week in Missouri over allegations that Abbott’s formula led a premature infant to develop a serious gastrointestinal disease.
“NEC (necrotizing enterocolitis) is a terrible gastrointestinal disease that primarily affects premature infants and it is devastating to families,” CEO Robert Ford said during an earnings call Thursday. But Ford called plaintiff’s attorneys’ assertion that cow’s milk-based products can cause the illness in premature and low-birth weight infants “without merit or scientific support.”
He called the products “an important part of the standard of care for the majority of pre-term infants.”
“If these products were no longer available, physicians would be deprived of a vital food that’s needed in the NICU,” Ford said. “This would create a public health crisis affecting every state across this country.”
NEC is a disease of the intestinal tract, in which tissue lining the intestine becomes inflamed and dies. Pre-term and low birth weight babies are at higher risk of developing NEC, potentially because of their immature digestive systems, according to the National Institutes of Health. About 15% to 40% of infants with the disease die, according to the National Institutes of Health.
The trial began last week in Missouri Circuit Court in St. Louis over the allegations, which were brought by Illinois resident Margo Gill. It’s one of hundreds of lawsuits filed alleging Enfamil and Similac cause NEC in premature infants, but only the second one to go to trial. Mead Johnson makes Enfamil and north-suburban based Abbott makes Similac.
In March, a St. Clair County jury in Illinois ordered company Mead Johnson to pay $60 million in damages to Jasmine Watson, whose son Chance Dean died of NEC after consuming Mead Johnson’s cow’s milk-based premature infant formula.
In the case now at trial, Gill alleges her daughter was given Abbott’s cow’s milk-based infant feeding products as a premature infant, which caused her to develop NEC. Gill’s daughter, who was born in 2021, “was forced to undergo extensive surgery as a result of her NEC diagnosis and has continued to suffer long-term health consequences throughout her life,” according to Gill’s complaint.
The lawsuit alleges that a mother’s breastmilk or donor breastmilk are safer alternatives for premature infants.
“Despite knowing of the risk of NEC, Abbott did not warn of the significantly increased risk of NEC (and resulting medical conditions, and/or death) associated with its products, or of the magnitude of this increased risk,” the lawsuit alleges.
An attorney representing Abbott said during opening statements at trial last week that the child’s condition was caused by trauma at birth that deprived her brain of oxygen before she received formula, Reuters reported.
In 2011, the US Surgeon General acknowledged that formula feeding was associated with higher rates of NEC for premature infants. The American Academy of Pediatrics in its March 2012 policy statement supporting breastfeeding also noted that studies have shown that feeding preterm infants human milk is associated with a significant reduction in incidences of NEC. The AAP formally recommends breastfeeding or human donor milk to reduce the chance of NEC in premature babies.
Abbott’s stock price dipped to $101.64 a share on July 9, when the trial began, and was at $103.62 Thursday morning after the company reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.14, beating estimates.
Reporter Emily Hoerner contributed to this report.