Zimmer Biomet sued for $2.6M by Mexico's health agency

Spinal Tech

Mexico's federal health agency is suing Zimmer Biomet to recover more than $2.6 million the company allegedly made through a bribery scheme, according to Medtech Insight.

The Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social filed a lawsuit Jan. 30 in Indiana federal court. It is seeking a refund on products it purchased from Zimmer Biomet and its predecessor between 2008 and 2013, when the devicemaker's Mexican agents allegedly bribed government officials.

The lawsuit accuses Biomet, which merged with Zimmer in 2015, of paying government officials nearly $1 million in bribes to allow the illegal sale of unregistered medical products in Mexico.

The agency claims that Zimmer Biomet's involvement in the alleged bribery scheme nullifies all contracts the agency has signed with the company since then. The lawsuit requests a jury trial.

In October 2019, the same federal health agency filed a similar lawsuit seeking a refund for purchases from Stryker, Mass Device reported at the time. The suit alleged that Stryker made more than $2.1 million in profits from illegal contracts after bribing Mexico officials. 

In 2017, Zimmer Biomet paid the U.S. government $30.5 million to settle the foreign bribery allegations at the center of Mexico's Jan. 30 lawsuit, Reuters reported.

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