Pfizer Gets Testosterone Win; 1,000 Depo-T Suits Preempted

Pfizer Inc. scored a win in testosterone replacement litigation, as federal drug labeling laws bar more than 1,000 suits over Depo-T, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit said.

Pfizer and its Pharmacia & Upjohn Co. unit could not unilaterally change Depo-T’s labels under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the court said Jan. 19.

The mens’ suits are therefore barred by “impossibility preemption"—the companies couldn’t have complied both with the federal label requirements and a state-law warning duty that would force them to change the label.

Plaintiffs allege testosterone replacement drugs cause heart attacks and strokes. ...