Court Rules for FDA in Vanda Label Case
The DC District Court has ruled in FDA’s favor regarding a Vanda Pharmaceuticals lawsuit seeking an agency order to revoke the approval of a Teva ANDA for a generic copy of Hetlioz (tasimelteon) for treating non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder in blind patients. Vanda contended that because Teva’s label lacked braille it violated laws requiring generic labels to be the same as, and to include the same conditions of use as, the original pioneer drug label. The court’s opinion determined that FDA ultimately concluded that the braille labeling was “nice to have,” but it was not a condition for approval and thus “not a requirement for the generic products.”