Valsartan Adulteration Lawsuit Sees Most Claims Head to Trial

Labels identifying drugs as valsartan constituted express warranties about the medications’ safety, but whether manufacturers breached the warranty depends on disputed facts, a federal judge said ahead of a bellwether trial in litigation alleging generic blood pressure medications were contaminated by a carcinogenic substance.

The US District Court for the District of New Jersey on Tuesday said drug manufacturers’ labeling of medication used to lower blood pressure as “valsartan” signified a guarantee that the drugs were bioequivalents in safety and purity to their brand-name counterpart. Whether the warranty was breached because the medications should be considered “adulterated” under federal regulations ...