Judge Grants Novartis Summary Judgment on Elidel Claims

PHILADELPHIA - A Pennsylvania federal judge on July 9 granted Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. summary judgment on claims that its Elidel (pimecrolimus) Cream caused a child to contract lymphoma. Perry, et al. v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., et al., No. 05-5350 (E.D. Pa.).

Judge Stewart Dalzell of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania excluded the testimony of the plaintiffs' experts, deeming it unreliable because it fails to consider possible idiopathic causes of the boy's cancer.

The parents of Andreas Perry sued Novartis, claiming that their son's six-month use of Elidel to treat his eczema caused him to develop …