Court Splits in Diabetes Drug Case, Allowing Lawsuit to Proceed
The U.S. Supreme Court’s divided ruling in a diabetes drug case today has the effect of allowing a lawsuit to proceed, SCOTUSblog reports.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. did not participate in the case, which was argued last Monday. The lawsuit contends a pharmaceutical company withheld information about liver damage from the FDA during the approval process for the drug Rezulin, which has since been withdrawn from the market, the New York Times reported in an earlier article. Plaintiffs sued under a Michigan law that allows suits when FDA approval is gained through fraud.
Lawyers for the drug maker, Pfizer Inc., argued that federal regulation of pharmaceuticals pre-empts state lawsuits, the Associated Press reported in its earlier story.
The divided ruling leaves in place a ruling by the New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowing the suit. The case is Warner-Lambert v. Kent.
