Claims Asserted Against Maker of Generic HRT Drug Preempted, Fla. Federal Judge Rules

MIAMI — Failure-to-warn and design defect claims asserted against the maker of a generic hormone replacement therapy drug are preempted because they would require the defendant to unilaterally change the warnings and design of its drug, which federal law prohibits, a Florida federal judge has ruled.

In the Jan. 7 order, Judge K. Michael Moore of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida also dismissed the claims against the maker of the brand name drug on the basis that the plaintiff only ingested the generic version.

Maggie Tsavaris sued Pfizer Inc., Whety Inc., Novo Nordisk Inc. and …