Court Urged to Reverse Decision Allowing Generic User to Sue Branded Drugmaker

A recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling allowing a patient who used generic metoclopramide to sue the makers of the branded drug Reglan “is extraordinary by any measure” and should be reconsidered and reversed, the Reglan manufacturers argued Feb. 18 in an application for rehearing (Wyeth Inc. v. Weeks, Ala., No. 1101397).

The court disregards key precedents and unexpectedly saddles the brand-name defendants with open-ended liability, violating their due process rights, the brief said.

In January, the court said plaintiff Danny Weeks, who used only generic versions of the reflux drug, may sue Pfizer Inc. subsidiary Wyeth LLC and ...