It’s rare that I find myself in agreement with Public Citizen. This is one of those times.
In a 5 to 4 vote the Supreme Court has ruled that makers of generic drugs cannot be sued under state law for adverse reactions to their products, a decision that consumer advocates called a blow to patient safety.
The majority opinion, written by Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., said the state’s law could not run against federal laws regarding prescription medicines whose design has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The consumer watchdog group Public Citizen said the Supreme Court decision Monday undermines patient safety at a time when about 80 percent of U.S. prescriptions are filled with generic medicines.
“Today’s court decision provides a disincentive for generic makers of drugs to monitor safety of their products and to make sure that they have a surveillance system in place to detect adverse events that pose a threat to patients,” Michael Carome, director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, said in an interview.
Wither innovator preemption?
