Implant Recall

The Australian company Cochlear is voluntarily recalling its Nucleus CI500 line of ear implants because of failures of its CI512 units. This recall does not involve implants already in use and the company says less than 1% of these implants have failed since they were first sold in 2009. Still, stock shares of the Sydney-based company plunged as much as 27% on the news. The nearly 30 year old company has about 70% of the global market for hearing devices, while Switzerland’s Sonova has about 15% of the market.