Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

US Supreme Court to hear ‘federal preemption’ case on vaccines:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704869304575109482063466178.html

The case, Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, involves a lawsuit in Pennsylvania state court in which parents alleged that their 6-month-old daughter developed residual seizure disorder after receiving a diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine manufactured by Wyeth, now a unit of Pfizer Inc. Wyeth denies that its vaccine caused the injuries.

The case is the latest in which the Supreme Court will decide whether federal laws pre-empt state regulation on medical matters. The justices have found that a federal law pre-empts suits against medical-device manufacturers filed under state liability statutes, but different language applying to drugs permits similar claims against pharmaceutical companies.

The Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled last year that the vaccine lawsuit was pre-empted by the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986. That law created a national compensation program for vaccine-injury claims, but it also gave vaccine makers protection from some lawsuits.

The law said a manufacturer could not be sued if a vaccine-related injury resulted from side effects that were unavoidable even if the vaccine was made properly and accompanied by proper directions and warnings.