Abbott Ordered to Pay $495 Million in Baby-Formula Verdict -- WSJ
A jury ordered Abbott Laboratories to pay $495 million in compensation and damages after determining that the company failed to warn that its formula for premature infants increased risk for a bowel disease.Shares of Abbott, which makes the Similac formula, fell about 5% in extended-hours trading."We strongly disagree with the verdict," an Abbott spokesman said. "We will pursue all avenues to have the erroneous decision overturned.". The verdict included $400 million in punitive damages. Punitive damages can be reduced by the trial judge or reversed on appeal.Earlier this year, Mead Johnson, owned by U.K.-based Reckitt Benckiser, was ordered to pay $60 million to plaintiffs in a similar case. Nearly 1,000 such lawsuits are pending against the two companies, JPMorgan Chase analysts have said. Shares in the two companies have trended downward since that March verdict.On an earnings call on July 18, Abbott Chief Executive Robert Ford said that regulators have deemed the company's preterm