Claims against blood filtration company’s cancer ‘cure’ likely to advance
A federal judge in San Francisco indicated she would allow additional claims to proceed against ExThera Medical Corporation, which marketed its ONCObind blood filter as a treatment that could cure metastatic cancer. Judge Maxine Chesney said plaintiffs could reasonably have believed a former board member, shown in a promotional video calling the filter 'the difference between life and death,' was speaking for the company.
Plaintiffs say at least three patients died within days or weeks of receiving the $45,000 treatment at a clinic in Antigua, while others grew sicker and saw cancer markers rise. Chesney had already dismissed civil RICO, negligence, battery and wrongful death claims in May, but let fraud, emotional distress and product liability claims move forward, and she signaled Friday the amended complaint may have fixed some of those earlier defects.
The judge was more skeptical of claims involving statements shared informally among a 'cancer wives' support group, and questioned whether each plaintiff could show they'd actually seen specific marketing on the company's website. Several individual defendants, including billionaire investor Alan Quasha and his daughter, have already been dismissed from the case.
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