Judge Breaks Alleged Sales Rep Link to Neurontin Suicide Claim

BOSTON - Claims asserted against a pharmaceutical sales rep named in a Neurontin suit must extend beyond the factual allegation that she sold the drug in order to be considered sufficient to state a claim for wrongful death, a federal magistrate has ruled. Johnson v. Pfizer Inc., et al., No. 06-10309 (D. Mass.).

In a report and recommendation issued Oct. 16, Magistrate Judge Leo T. Sorokin of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts held that the sales representative, initially identified as 'John Doe,' should be dismissed from the case for plaintiff's failure to establish a cause of …