The U.S. Supreme Court seems unlikely to reject a common legal strategy drugmakers use to defend themselves against patient lawsuits, according to STAT.
Several Supreme Court Justices, including Justices Neil Gorsuch and Stephen Breyer, seemed to side with the drug industry after hearing oral arguments Jan. 7 in a case that has been highly watched by the pharmaceutical industry.
The case, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Doris Albrecht, examines the common legal argument that the FDA, a federal authority, limits drug manufacturers' ability to appropriately warn patients about dangerous drug side effects.
Patients argue, however, that drugmakers are breaking state "failure to warn" laws, which require companies to inform consumers about any dangers of their products.
The justices seemed to agree with Merck, which argues that it followed the FDA's directives and therefore shouldn't have to defend itself against a class-action patient lawsuit.
Read more about the case here.