Drug Compounding, Drug Safety, and the First Amendment
Rebecca Dresser
Washington University in Saint Louis - School of Law
2013
Hastings Center Report, 43:9-10, 2013
Washington University in St. Louis Legal Studies Research Paper No. 14-02-07
Abstract:
In September 2012, news broke of a developing drug disaster in the United States. Health authorities tracking a fungal meningitis outbreak linked the disease to a contaminated steroid injectable drug made by a company called the New England Compounding Center. The contaminated steroid was a compounded drug that had not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. By the time health officials pinpointed the source of the outbreak, an estimated 14,000 people had been injected with the contaminated drug. By December 2012, thirty-nine had died of meningitis and hundreds more had been diagnosed with the disease and other drug-related conditions. Many factors contributed to this drug disaster. One was a decision by the United States Supreme Court. In a 2002 decision, the Court ruled that a 1997 federal law regulating drug compounding was unconstitutional. Because the law prohibited providers of compounded drugs from promoting their products through advertising and other means, the Court held that it impermissibly restricted commercial speech.
Accepted Paper Series
Date posted: March 1, 2014
Suggested Citation
Contact Information
Rebecca Dresser (Contact Author)
Washington University in Saint Louis - School of Law ( email )
Campus Box 1120
St. Louis, MO 63130 United States |
