Philips shares fall 7% after U.S. drug regulator deals fresh blow to sleep device recall

Shares of Dutch health tech company Philips tumbled to the bottom of the European benchmark on Friday, after the U.S. drug regulator deemed its handling of a major product recall inadequate.

The Amsterdam-listed stock finished the day down 7%, paring some losses after falling by as much as 10% earlier in the session.

The announcement reflects yet another blow to Philips over the recall of millions of ventilators used to treat sleep apnea, which CEO Roy Jakobs earlier this year said would be the the firm’s “highest priority. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said that the “testing and analysis Philips shared up to this point are not adequate to fully assess the risks posed by the recalled devices to users.” The FDA stated that additional testing was necessary, and Philips had agreed to do so. The company said that it shared the FDA’s and other regulators’ goal of ensuring the highest standards in patient safety and healthcare quality. “