Pre-emption in High Court
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
The U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 25 grants a petition to hear a case that could limit when state tort claims can be pressed against drug firms, a product liability claim involving Warner-Lambert's diabetes drug Rezulin (troglitazone). At issue is whether federal law pre-empts a Michigan statute that allows product liability claims if FDA has not found a manufacturer has concealed information from the agency. The case and another suit the court previously agreed to hear - Reigel v. Medtronic, which addresses whether FDA premarket approval of a medical device provides protection from state product liability suits - challenge the limits on federal pre-emption sustained in the FDA reauthorization law enacted Sept. 27, P.L. 110-85 (1"The Tan Sheet" Oct. 1, 2007, p 11)...