As mentioned on our Health Industry Washington Watch blog, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it will hold a public hearing on March 25 and 26, 2014 to receive input on the current processes for reviewing over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. In the announcement, the FDA concedes that the current OTC drug review “needs … Continue Reading
This post was written by John Wilkinson, Nicola Maguire and Adam Lewington. In November 2013, the Human Medicines (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2013 (the “Amendment”) came into effect, amending the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, which set out a “comprehensive regime for the authorisation of medicinal products for human use; for the manufacture, import, distribution, sale and … Continue Reading
The FDA has issued final guidance on “Labeling OTC Human Drug Products—Questions and Answers.” This document is intended to assist manufacturers, packers, and distributors of over-the-counter (OTC) drug products in complying with the agency’s regulation on standardized content and format requirements for the labeling of OTC drug products, including the use of toll-free numbers and compliance … Continue Reading
In Carter v. Novartis Consumer Health, Inc., --- F. Supp. 2d --- , No. EDCV08-0334 MRP (JCRx) (C.D. Cal. Aug. 5, 2008) and its companion cases, the Central District of California addressed the express preemption clause of Section 379r of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act governing OTC drugs. Here, the parents of children younger than age 6 filed a complaint against manufacturers alleging that the OTC cough and cold medicines "d[id] not work" and were dangerous to their children. There were no requests for damages based on injuries, but rather for the economic harm of purchasing these products. Plaintiffs also sought injunctive relief, pursuant to various state consumer fraud statutes, and each case sought to certify a class on behalf of all others similarly situated.
The court granted the defendants' motion to dismiss based on federal preemption for all of the claims (unjust enrichment, false and misleading advertising, fraudulent concealment, unfair and deceptive business practices, and breach of express and implied warranties), noting that OTC cough and cold medicines are regulated by the FDA pursuant to the OTC monograph, generally described within 21 CFR part 341. Such OTC monographs set forth approved indications for use and age-dependent dosage instructions that must comply with all FDA regulations, and are therefore generally recognized as safe and effective. Claims attacking these federal "requirements" therefore preempted the state "requirements" established by the state law claims. Of particular note was the court's understanding that the state requirements were not defined by its label, but "its ultimate outcome: would a finding of liability impose requirements that are different from or in addition to FDA requirements?" p. 13. Because the claims were premised on attacks based upon FDA-approved statements in product labeling and advertising, such claims were preempted.… Continue Reading
In Parker v. Stryker Corp., 2008 WL 4457864 (D. Colo. Oct. 1, 2008), the District of Colorado addressed Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc., 128 S. Ct. 999 (2008), and the applicability of the express preemption clause of the Medical Device Amendments in a case where the manufacturer sought a discovery stay pending resolution of its motion … Continue Reading
