5th Circ. Rejects Generic Preemption Argument

By Jacqueline Bell

Law360, New York (January 08, 2010, 6:34 PM ET) -- A federal appeals court has ruled that the federal regulatory approval process does not protect makers of generic drugs from lawsuits under state failure-to-warn laws, affirming a lower court ruling against generic pharmaceutical company Actavis Inc.

In a Friday decision written by Judge Patrick E. Higginbotham, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit noted that the Supreme Court's recent ruling in Wyeth v. Levine that such claims against brand-name drugmakers are not preempted by federal law did cast a long shadow.

“While not directing...
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