Drugs

Appeals Court Upholds WV Law on Misleading Lawyer Ads

The 4^th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a West Virginia law regulating ads that solicit plaintiffs for lawsuits involving drugs or medical devices. The appeals court reversed a district court decision that struck down the law on First Amendment grounds. Writing in a Washington Legal Foundation Legal Opinion Letter, attorneys Mark Behrens and Kateland Jackson (Shook, Hardy & Bacon) say the court rejected the First Amendment arguments raised by two West Virginia plaintiffs’ attorneys and a client.

The attorneys write that West Virginia is one of a growing number of states that regulate misleading ads for legal services. The state’s law prohibits ads soliciting legal clients from using certain terms or images that may mislead the public and requires certain disclosures to prevent confusion and protect public health.

Legal ads involving medications or devices can’t be presented as “consumer medical alert,” “health alert,” “consumer alert,” or “public health announcement,” the attorneys say. Ads also can’t display the logo of a government agency in a manner suggesting an affiliation with the sponsorship of that agency. Ads can’t use the word “recall” in an ad for a product that has not been recalled by a government agency.

The attorneys say the law also requires that ads state “this is a paid advertisement for legal services” and identify the sponsor. And the ads must caution viewers not to stop taking a prescribed medication without first consulting a doctor, as doing so “can result in injury or death.”

The 4^th Circuit held that the state must safeguard the health and safety of its citizens and said that the law’s requirements “are just the sort of health and safety warnings that have been long considered permissible.” The court remanded the case to the district court with instructions that it be dismissed and rejected a petition for rehearing by the entire appeals court, the lawyers write

Gupta Raises Concerns About Overton’s Independence, Ideology

FDA commissioner nominee Heidi Overton’s responses on vaccines, contraception and abortion medication during her 9/24 Senate confirmation hearing raise concerns that ideology could influence her decision-making if she takes over the agency, MSNBC senior medical analyst Dr. Vin Gupta said Friday. Gupta was particularly critical of Overton’

Overton Confirmation Remains Uncertain After Senate Hearing

FDA commissioner nominee Heidi Overton emerged from her Senate confirmation hearing Thursday (see earlier story) without resolving questions about whether she has enough Republican support to advance — and with a rapidly narrowing window for confirmation before the midterm elections. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing provided few

FDA Classifies Boston Scientific Imager II Catheter Recall as Class I

FDA has classified Boston Scientific's recall of its Imager II Angiographic Catheters as Class I because a manufacturing problem could cause catheter tips to degrade and detach, potentially resulting in life-threatening complications. The agency announced the Class I classification 9/25, updating an Early Alert it issued

FDA Approves Gazyva for Childhood-Onset Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome

FDA has approved Roche’s Gazyva (obinutuzumab) for reducing the risk of relapse in adults and children aged 2 and older with frequently relapsing or steroid-dependent, childhood-onset idiopathic nephrotic syndrome who are in remission. The expanded approval covers the use of the CD20-directed antibody beyond its existing

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Gupta Raises Concerns About Overton’s Independence, Ideology

Overton Confirmation Remains Uncertain After Senate Hearing

FDA Classifies Boston Scientific Imager II Catheter Recall as Class I

FDA Approves Gazyva for Childhood-Onset Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome