Drugmakers Lose Early Defense to Injury Suits in 3d Circuit

Drugmakers already had a tough time winning the argument that federal law bars some product liability claims over their name-brand medications.

But now a decision by the Third Circuit makes that argument even harder, if not impossible, in many instances, attorneys tell Bloomberg BNA.

A jury, not a court, must decide whether federal drug labeling law bars warnings-based claims, the Third Circuit held (In re Fosamax (Alendronate Sodium) Prod. Liab. Litig., 2017 BL 89527, 3d Cir., No. 14-1900, 3/22/17).

And the jury can only make that finding if it’s “highly probable” that the Food and Drug Administration would ...