Learned Intermediary Doctrine Shields Glaxo from Serevent Claim

PHOENIX - Failure-to-warn claims filed on behalf of an asthmatic who died after taking Serevent have been dismissed by a federal trial judge who determined that the decedent's physician would have prescribed the drug even if the manufacturer had included additional warnings on the label. Nix v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., et al., No. 06-43 (D. Ariz.).

U.S. District Court Judge Stephen M. McNamee of the District of Arizona awarded summary judgment Sept. 5 to GlaxoSmithKline, finding that under the learned intermediary doctrine adopted in California, the manufacturer adequately warned Christopher Nix's asthma specialist of risks associated with Serevent.

Nix's family …