Stuart M. Gerson, Member of the Firm in the Litigation and Health Care & Life Sciences practices, in the firm’s Washington, DC, and New York offices, was quoted in Inside Health Policy, in “Kavanaugh to Play Role in Drug Patent, Pharmaceutical Company Liability Cases,” by Rachel Cohrs. (Read the full version – subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt:
Newly minted Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh could play a pivotal role in deciding two key cases related to the pharmaceutical industry in the upcoming term. Kavanaugh’s vote, which has likely tipped the court in a more conservative direction, could shape the interpretation of a 2011 law that protects patent owners and could determine how much liability pharmaceutical companies carry when FDA rulings conflict with state tort laws.
Kavanaugh’s prior rulings on several FDA-related cases indicate he would defer to the federal agencies on cases of scientific judgments, but would keep agencies from acting outside their statutory authority and would allow courts to rule on issues of major economic and political significance. Legal experts said that Kavanaugh’s past rulings do not give a direct indication as to his potential position on the two pharmaceutical cases pending at the high court.
The court will decide in the next few months whether it will hear any other pharmaceutical-related cases.
Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. …
Stuart Gerson, a member of the firm at Epstein Becker Green and a former acting U.S. Attorney General, said he thought it was significant that the case came to the Supreme Court from the Federal Circuit.
“Cases from the Federal Circuit have been reversed a fair number of times. I think there’s a good chance that the four justices have voted to take this case to reverse it,” Gerson said.
