Claims Against Generic Ibuprofen Makers Preempted, Ill. Federal Judge Rules

CHICAGO — Design defect and failure-to-warn claims asserted against the makers of generic ibuprofen are preempted by federal law, which prohibits the defendants from altering the drug or its label in any way, an Illinois federal judge has ruled.

In an Oct. 28 order, Judge Jorge Alonso of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois further held that the savings clause of 21 U.S.C. § 379r does not save state-law product liability claims from the conflict preemption doctrine, which is asserted in the instant case.

Allison Greager, in June 2012, ingested McNeil-PPC’s Motrin IB and Walmart’s generic …