June 26, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government today delivered a letter to House Speaker John Boehner today signed by leaders of eight major organizations urging his “opposition to legislation that would drive up healthcare costs and line the pockets of trial lawyer by opening generic drug manufacturers to frivolous lawsuits.”
The letter signed by leaders of Americans for Limited Government, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Hispanic Leadership Fund, American Commitment, King Street Patriots, LessGovernment.org, Independent Women’s Forum and Congress On Racial Equality is particularly relevant given today’s Supreme Court decision in Mutual Pharmaceutical v. Bartlett.
One of the underlying cases for today‘s decision was the PLIVA, Inc v. Mensing case in 2011 where the Court held that it was impossible for generics to change (much less strengthen) safety warnings to comply with state law and still comply with the federal law’s requirement that their labeling be “the same as” FDA-approved brand drug labeling.
Nathan Mehrens, president of Americans for Limited Government explained, “Attempts by the trial bar to open up generic drug manufacturers to liability because they followed U.S. Food and Drug Administration labeling standards are absurd on their face. If Congress allows this to occur, those who depend upon low cost generics will likely see the prices skyrocket as attorneys across the nation go wild suing manufacturers for following federal law.”
The letter asks the Speaker to “actively oppose such legislation when it is introduced and stop any momentum that it might hope to gain.”
It is anticipated that legislation overturning Mensing will be introduced in both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives.
Attachments:
Letter to House Speaker Rep. John Boehner, June 24, 2013, at http://getliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Generics-Labeling-Legislation-Letter-6-26-13.pdf
Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at (703) 383-0880 ext. 103 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Nathan Mehrens.
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