Drugs

Appeals Courts Applying Sorrell Decision: WLF

Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) says that recent federal appeals court decisions suggest that the Supreme Court’s 2011 decision in Sorrell v. IMS Health has led to an expansion of commercial speech. A WLF online Legal Pulse says that the high court held in Sorrell that content- or speaker-based restrictions on non-misleading commercial speech regarding lawful goods or services should be subjected to “heightened” judicial scrutiny.

The post cites a California case decided by the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals that dealt with a law prohibiting liquor manufacturers and wholesalers from giving anything of value to retailers for advertising their alcoholic products. The decision overturned a 30-year-old circuit court precedent that upheld restrictions on advertising by alcoholic beverage retailers.

The appeals court decision, the post says, indicates that “the federal appeals courts have taken the Supreme Court’s Sorrell decision to heart and are applying closer First Amendment scrutiny to restrictions on non-misleading commercial speech. The decision makes clear that when governments seek to restrict such commercial speech because they simply disapprove of the content or the speaker, they can expect courts to undertake a significantly more exacting scrutiny than they did in the pre-Sorrell era.”

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