A recent ruling in a California appeals court made pharmaceutical companies responsible for side effects caused by the generic forms of their brand name drugs. Ed Silverman says it’s going to spark a ton of lawsuits:
The First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco reinstated a lawsuit by Elizabeth Conte, who had taken a generic version of Wyeth’s Reglan heartburn med for nearly four years and developed tardive dyskinesia, which causes incurable and involuntary muscle movements. Although she took only generics, Conte accused Wyeth and three generic drugmakers of failing to warn of the risk of long-term use.
As one commenter puts it, “I should get in on this generic med business - tons of money and no risk.”
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
The FDA checks less than 10% of all generic drugs.
"Even when there are inspectors on the job, they cannot be sure every ingredient in a medicine is safe."
"Even the Generic Pharmaceutical Association, a normally loquacious trade group, was largely silent on the issue."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/magazine/02fda-t.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=all
Wow. How about I sue McDonald’s for a bad burger I bought at Burger King. I never have to give them a penny!
This is a strange way of getting more generics onto the market - and reducing new drug R&D. It could really put the breaks on the search for new cures. Why would anyone want to take the risk of developing them? They'll be eternally liable for any adverse outcome from the drug, anyone's copy of it, or even a provider's misunderstanding of warnings on the label. The American legal system is totally out of control. We need tort reform now.
Maybe the drug companies involved should sue Conte for endangerment. In the interim, perhaps all medication, even OTC, should only be sold after a release is signed, with a new federal bureaucracy to design, collect analyse and ignore them.
Chuck Brooks
FutureWare SCG