J&J to Withdraw Acid Reflux Device Outside US, Alarming Surgeons

Johnson & Johnson is withdrawing a device to treat debilitating acid reflux disease from markets outside the US, a move surgeons warned would set back the available treatment options for sufferers by more than a decade and also impact lung transplant patients.

Sales of the Linx Reflux Management System will be stopped outside the US from the end of March, the company said in a letter to doctors dated Sept. 17 seen by Bloomberg. J&J confirmed it was stopping sales in “certain countries,” based on a commercial decision unrelated to the device’s safety or efficacy.