Another of the recent significant decisions from the In re Zantac MDL, No. 2924, addressed preemption – mostly but not entirely involving defendants who manufactured generic versions of the drug. In re Zantac (Ranitidine) Products Liability Litigation, ___ F. Supp.3d ___, 2020 WL 7864213 (S.D. Fla. Dec. 31, 2020). For those who have not
Generic Drugs
Zitney Now a Published Decision
A little over a month ago, we blogged about the Pennsylvania Superior Court (the Commonwealth’s general intermediate appellate court deciding a test case, Zitney v. Wyeth LLC, 2020 WL 6129173 (Pa. Super. Oct. 19, 2020), that held, as a matter of first impression, that there was no separate duty for a prescription medical product…
District of Minnesota Says Maybe to Failure to Update Claim

We have expressed our opinion on “failure to update” claims and have not hidden that we don’t think much of them. Failure to update claims were manufactured by plaintiffs in response to PLIVA, Inc. v. Mensing, 564 U.S. 604 (2011) and Mutual Pharm. Co. v. Bartlett, 570 U.S. 472 (2013) which basically…
No Pennsylvania Duty To Send “Dear Healthcare Provider” Letters
In a significant, albeit unpublished, decision, an intermediate appellate court in Pennsylvania has ruled that there is no recognized Pennsylvania common-law “duty” for prescription medical product manufacturers to send Dear Healthcare Provider (“DHCP”, a/k/a “Dear Doctor”) letters about label changes. Zitney v. Wyeth LLC, 2020 WL 6129173 (Pa. Super. Oct. 19, 2020).
Zitney arose…
Generic Warning Case Barred by Learned Intermediary Doctrine

Nope, we didn’t bury the lead. Today we are talking about a generic, negligence per se, warnings case that wasn’t decided on preemption grounds. No Mensing. No Buckman. No preemption of any kind. Normally that would make us a little nervous, but no need. It was the learned intermediary doctrine’s day to be…
Adequate Warnings Should Be Enough
It seems so obvious as not to require a citation – but this is the Drug and Device Law Blog, so we’ll provide some anyway.
Furnishing an adequate warning satisfies a product manufacturer’s duty to warn.
Thus, in a prescription medical product case, “if the manufacturer provides complete, accurate, and appropriate warnings about the product…
Not Your Brother’s Keeper

This post comes from the non-Reed Smith side of the blog.
The phrase may be biblical in origin, coming from the story of Cain and Abel, but its meaning certainly persists and has relevance today. Being both a sibling and a parent of siblings, this blogger doesn’t want to give the impression that her family…
Mensing Applies to Cross-Claims Too

We all know that absent extraordinary circumstances, failure to warn claims against generic drug manufacturers are preempted under PLIVA, Inc. v. Mensing, 564 U.S. 604 (2011). But as far as we are aware, no other court has been asked to decide whether that same preemption applies to cross-claims for contribution or indemnity. Until now.…
Illinois Court Applies Mensing/Bartlett to Generic OTC Drug

This post is from the non-Reed Smith side of the blog.
If you know this blog, you know we leave no stone unturned when it comes to preemption. As far as we know, Greager v. McNeil-PPC, Inc., 2019 WL 5549524 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 28, 2019) is a preemption issue of first impression. Plaintiff alleged she…
Most Claims Dismissed with Prejudice in N.D. Cal. Amiodarone Case

Indulge us for a moment as we recount another airline adventure. Recently, we traveled thousands of miles to an important argument. Our first flight boarded right on time, left the gate right on time, and taxied down the runway . . . partway. Then stopped. Enter the inevitable announcement: “Ladies and gentlemen, we’re very sorry,…