- Your 'local everything': what 7-Eleven buyout battle means for Japan
- AI-aided research, new materials eyed for Nobel Chemistry Prize
- The US economy is solid: Why are voters gloomy?
- Scientists sound AI alarm after winning physics Nobel
- Nobel-winning physicist 'unnerved' by AI technology he helped create
- Trump secretly sent Covid tests to Putin: Bob Woodward book
- Neural networks, machine learning? Nobel-winning AI science explained
- Boeing delivers 27 MAX jets in September despite strike
- Stock markets diverge as Hong Kong sinks, oil prices fall
- US trade gap narrowest in five months as imports slip
- Stay and 'you are going to die': Florida braces for next hurricane
- Geoffrey Hinton, soft-spoken godfather of AI
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for 'foundational' AI breakthroughs
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China slaps provisional tariffs on EU brandy imports
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free soon after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China says to take anti-dumping measures against EU brandy imports
- China stocks rally fizzles on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- China stocks rally peters out on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Taiwan's Foxconn says building world's largest 'superchip' plant
- Nobel literature jury may go for non-Western writer
- From Bolivia to Indonesia, deforestation continues apace
- China holds off on fresh stimulus but 'confident' will hit growth target
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case faces verdict in sex crimes trial
- Top economic official 'confident' China will hit 2024 growth target
- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal live up to hype?
- 'Invisibility' and quantum computing tipped for physics Nobel
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
Embattled Philips says respirators 'within safety limits'
Under-fire Dutch medical device maker Philips said Wednesday extensive testing on its recalled respirator devices showed they were "within safety limits" for use, but that a final verdict rests with global regulatory authorities.
The Amsterdam-based company announced a global recall of its appliances to treat people suffering from sleep apnoea 18 months ago over concerns patients risked "possible toxic and carcinogenic effects" if they inhaled or swallowed pieces of degraded sound-dampening foam on the machines.
The recall has so far cost the company 2.2 billion euros ($2.3 billion), pushed it to cut 4,000 jobs and seen one chief executive step down.
But the company announced on Wednesday that extensive testing showed the respirators were "compliant with... allowable limits for particle matter emissions."
Philips based its results on research done by five independent laboratories, third party experts as well as an external medical panel, it said.
The research found exposure to particle matter emissions from degraded foam "is unlikely to result in an appreciable harm to health in patients," Philips said.
"Today is important because it starts with reassuring that the product that we did put out actually was within the safety limits," Philips' chief executive Roy Jakobs told AFP.
- 'FDA is still considering' -
"This is a complex matter and we wanted to do a very scientific, thorough job," he added.
The latest test results have now been submitted to regulatory authorities including the US Food and Drug Administration, which still need to make an assessment.
"The FDA is still considering the data and analyses... provided and may reach different conclusions," Philips said.
Philips also noted that its advice to patients remains unchanged: consult with their doctor to consider whether to continue to use the affected models, or switch to a different model or alternative treatments.
It said was continuing to test other models, including ones with a different type of foam.
It is also looking at the impact of non-regulatory approved cleaning methods on the machines, saying data available so far showed ozone cleaning to have exacerbated foam degradation.
Investors responded positively to Philips' announcement, with its share price jumping by over four percent in midday trade on the Amsterdam stock exchange's blue-chip AEX index.
Starting off as a lighting company more than 130 years ago, Philips has undergone major changes in recent years, selling off assets to focus on making high-end electronic healthcare products.
D.Goldberg--CPN