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Lawsuits regarding NEC & Specialized Preterm Hospital Nutrition Products

Our position on NEC lawsuits in the United States regarding specialized preterm hospital nutrition products:

Specialized preterm hospital nutrition products for premature babies provide essential, lifesaving nutrition to the most vulnerable infants when mother’s or donor milk is unavailable or insufficient. We stand behind the safety and efficacy of our specialized preterm hospital nutrition products, which neonatologists recommend when clinically appropriate as a crucial part of the standard of care in neonatal intensive care units. Indeed, the FDA has stated that it recognizes “these products are nutritionally necessary for feeding preterm infants who lack access to or require more than human milk as their sole source of nutrition.”1

Claims by plaintiffs’ lawyers that these products cause NEC are not supported by the science or the medical consensus and are irresponsible. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) stated, “the causes [of NEC] are multifaceted and not completely understood. Our science does not tell us exactly how to prevent it.”2 And the National Institutes of Health Working Group on NEC found that “the best way to prevent NEC is the prevention of preterm birth.”3 We will continue to vigorously defend ourselves against plaintiff lawyers’ allegations in the interest of safeguarding the health of premature babies.


1 Axios, “Lawsuits threaten infant formula for preemies” (Sep 19, 2024)

2 American Academy of Pediatrics Statement In Response to NEC Lawsuit Verdicts (July 27, 2024)

3 Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) in Preterm Infants Working Group of the National Advisory Council of Child Health and Human Development (NACHHD) Report to Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services, page iv (September 16, 2024)

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