A patient suit against Wyeth Pharmaceuticals may open brand name drug makers to liability for mishaps when patients take a generic product. A three-judge state appeals panel in California ruled that the originator company is responsible for product warnings and product information even when the patient is taking a generic.I, too, was aghast at this ruling by JUDGES...not Jurors. If there was a Jury making this asinine call, I could understand the 'us vs. the big bad corporation' mentality found in California.
“Manufacturers’ attorneys were aghast that a manufacturer could be held liable for a product the company didn’t even make,” William Fassett, pharmacist, attorney, and professor of pharmacy law at Washington State University College of Pharmacy in Spokane, WA told DT. “This is new territory.” The ruling overturns an earlier summary judgment that dismissed the suit against Wyeth and sends the case back to trial. The drug maker was sued over a neuromuscular disorder linked to long term use of generic metoclopramide (Reglan, Wyeth).
Perhaps Pepsi should be paying the insurance premiums of RC Cola and vice versa.
|