Abbott Denied Summary Judgment on Warning, Causation Theories in Depakote Birth Defect Case

ST. LOUIS — A Missouri federal judge has denied Abbott Laboratories Inc.’s motion for summary judgment on a failure-to-warn claim in a Depakote birth defect action, finding genuine issues of fact existed as to whether Abbott should have warned that the drug should only be used as a last line treatment in women of childbearing potential.

On March 31, Judge Charles Shaw of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri further found questions of fact as to whether Abbott improperly diluted the congenital malformation risk and whether its warning failed to advise on the importance of contraceptive …