S.D. Reaches Settlement in Medical Device Case

Avalign Technologies allegedly bought and sold devices that were not approved by the FDA.

Jason Ravnsborg, now South Dakota's attorney general, speaking in Sioux Falls, Feb. 23, 2014.
Jason Ravnsborg, now South Dakota's attorney general, speaking in Sioux Falls, Feb. 23, 2014.
AP Photo/Dirk Lammers, File

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The state of South Dakota has reached a settlement agreement with a company accused of buying and selling medical devices that were not approved or cleared by the Food and Drug Administration.

State Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg says the deal with Avalign Technologies and its subsidiary, Instrumed International, Inc., along with a separate settlement with CareFusion, calls for the state to receive more than $102,000. Of that, about $63,500 will go to the federal government and about $39,000 will go to the state general fund, both to offset alleged Medicaid damages.

Ravnsborg says Avalign Technologies has paid a total of $9.5 million to the United States and the participating states, of which $3.1 million will go to the Medicaid programs. CareFusion has paid a total of $3.3 million to the United States and the participating states.

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