Wednesday, August 27, 2014

PhRMA jumps into Integrilin off-label case, free-speech arguments at the ready

It was inevitable. When a U.S. circuit court decided the First Amendment protected a pharma sales rep from off-label marketing charges, the free-speech arguments had to multiply. And they have, in cases across the country, testing that Second Circuit decision in other regions.
The latest: PhRMA jumped into a California False Claims Act (FCA) case, with a friend-of-the-court brief defending Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Schering-Plough and Merck's right to talk up unapproved uses of the clot-fighting drug Integrilin.
It's a wisely chosen target: The case, filed by former Millennium sales rep Frank Solis, hinges on journal articles that the company allegedly distributed to doctors, along with letters summarizing the studies. Schering-Plough copromoted Integrilin with Millennium, and Merck ($MRK) bought Schering in 2009.
http://www.fiercepharmamarketing.com/story/phrma-jumps-integrilin-label-case-free-speech-arguments-ready/2014-08-27?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

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