To the extent that Plaintiffs reference exhibits in their Opposition to establish facts beyond those pled in the Complaint, the Court must disregard them. Plaintiffs cannot add factual allegations in Opposition; the mechanism for curing pleading deficiencies is to file an amended complaint . . . It is axiomatic that the complaint may not be amended by the briefs in opposition to a motion to dismiss.
Except as provided in subsection . . . (e) . . . of this section, no State or political subdivision of a State may establish or continue in effect any requirement – that relates to the regulation of a drug that is not subject to the requirements of section 353(b)(1) or 353(f)(1)(A) of this title [that means an OTC drug]; and that is different from or in addition to, or that is otherwise not identical with, a requirement under this chapter . . . .
Federal regulations . . . specify the required content on over-the-counter medication labels and, with 21 U.S.C. § 379r, Congress preempted state law claims regarding such labels. Any of Plaintiffs’ claims that pertain to the spray’s label are preempted.
FDA regulations cover the entire label, including indications of a product’s brand name, and thus preempt challenges to a label, even if the challenge is not based on inaccuracy or incompleteness. . . . . [Since] the FDA specifically considered brand name confusion in drafting its regulations; Plaintiffs’ present claims pertaining to the spray’s label are preempted.
The Complaint[] contains no information about when Plaintiffs saw J&J’s advertising, when or where they bought the spray, why they bought the spray, whether they bought the spray because they thought it contained antibiotics, or whether Plaintiffs even noticed the Signature Gold Mark and trade dress. In short, [the] Complaint [does not] allege[] with particularity the gravamen of Plaintiffs’ claims, i.e., that Plaintiffs bought the spray specifically because its advertising contained the Neosporin trade dress and signature gold mark, thus leading them to believe that the product contained antibiotics. Plaintiffs’ failure to plead that they were misled is fatal, particularly given the specificity that Rule 9(b) requires for NJCFA claims.
Not a complete victory, but plaintiff has her work cut out for her.