The Food and Drug Administration says Medtronic must stop most sales of its implantable drug pumps after years of uncorrected problems.

The FDA has filed a court order against Medtronic that says the medical device giant must halt most production and distribution of its Synchromed II drug pumps, which are implanted devices used to treat patients with cancer, chronic pain and severe muscle spasms.

Among other defects, some Synchromed pumps had to be recalled because they could lose battery power and fail, endangering patients. In other cases, the devices could cause patients to receive too much or too little medication. Medtronic generally did not recommend that patients have the devices removed, unless they were proven to be failing.

Medtronic said the agreement allows the company to make some drug pumps available to physicians on a limited basis. The Minneapolis-based company stressed it is not announcing any new recalls or safety alerts about its products.

"Patients with the Synchromed drug infusion system do not need to change their current course of therapy, have the pump removed, or take any other action as a result of this agreement," Medtronic said in a statement.

The FDA's consent decree was filed in U.S. District Court in Minnesota. The document alleges that Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak and neuromodulation business chief Thomas Tefft sold medical devices that failed to meet federally-enforced manufacturing standards. The company is also legally required to hire an outside expert to help correct the problems.

A consent decree is a form of legal settlement in which a company agrees to court-ordered actions without admitting fault or guilt. The decree will remain in effect until the FDA determines Medtronic has fixed the problems outlined in the document.

The FDA issued the company three warning letters about quality control and manufacturing problems at its drug pump facility in Columbia Heights between 2006 and 2013. FDA inspectors visited the plant north of Minneapolis five times over that period, the agency said in a Monday statement.

Medtronic is the world's largest medical device company, specializing in implantable pacemakers, defibrillators, drug pumps and other medical equipment.

The settlement was announced concurrently by the FDA and the U.S. Justice Department.