Topic 40: BREAKING: Court Rules FDA Cannot Prevent Truthful Off-label Promotion

In a court case that may have huge implications for pharma, a federal district judge in Manhattan ruled that the FDA cannot prevent a company from conducting off-label promotion if the promotion is truthful and scientifically accurate.

This ruling stems from the Amarin case that we discussed HERE.  In that case, Amarin argued that the precedent set by the Caronia case (which we discussed HERE) allowed them to promote off-label if the information shared was truthful and not misleading.  The FDA argued that the Caronia ruling was specific to those circumstances only and did not apply to Amarin.  Judge Engelmayer wrote in today’s ruling that “…A fair reading of that decision refutes the F.D.A.’s view that the Second Circuit’s ruling was limited to the facts of Caronia’s particular case.”

While this only currently applies to the circuit in question, it is a clear precedent that will need to be addressed if the FDA intends to retain its current regulatory approach to off-label promotion.  The FDA has not stated whether it intends to appeal but it did not appeal the Caronia ruling, a decision some pundits felt was made to avoid having a broader precedent set for allowing truthful off-label promotion.

This is an ongoing story but it could have some major implications for pharma and medical affairs.  Stay tuned to this space for more developments as they occur.

You can read an article about the verdict HERE.

Any comments or thoughts on today’s news?  Click here to share them.