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.

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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 17 September 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.

"It's devastating news," said Majid Hashemi, a consultant surgeon specializing in anti-reflux and keyhole bariatric surgery. Initially cautious about using it, Hashemi said the device has become a default procedure and its withdrawal will deprive patients. He said he was contacted directly by J&J about its decision.

Hashemi and other UK surgeons said there is currently no direct replacement for the Linx device, which is mainly used on patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, whose condition cannot be controlled with drugs.

The disease, in which stomach acid flows back up into the oesophagus and causes heartburn, is relatively common, affecting about 20% of adults in the US to some degree.

Though the majority can use medications such as proton pump inhibitors, some require surgery. In the past that was typically a fundoplication, in which the stomach is wrapped around the lower oesophagus.