Calif. Federal Judge Remands Byetta Case to State Court; Finds McKesson Properly Joined

SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge has remanded a diabetes drugs case to state court, finding the plaintiff has viable claims against nondiverse drug distributor McKesson Corp.

On July 10, Judge Anthony J. Battaglia of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California ruled the plaintiff’s failure-to-warn claims against McKesson are not federally preempted and are not defeated by the learned intermediary doctrine.

Dawn Smith, a California citizen, sued Amylin Pharmaceuticals LLC, Novo Dordisk Inc., Eli Lilly & Co. and McKesson Corp. in the San Diego Superior Court, alleging her ingestion of the diabetes drugs Byetta and …