N.Y. Federal Judge Dismisses Hoffman La-Roche Diet Drug Lawsuit With Prejudice

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge has dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit accusing Hoffman La-Roche Inc. of concealing the allegedly harmful side effects of its weight loss drug Xenical, ruling that the plaintiff failed to adequately specify how the drug was defective and what injuries she sustained.

On Sept. 29, Chief Judge Dora L. Irizarry further held that the plaintiff improperly grouped in her pleading HLR with another diet drug manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, noting the complaint alleged no facts as to HLR’s drug.

HLR manufactures and sells Xenical, an anti-obesity prescription drug. Glaxo SmithKline markets and sells an …