LAKE CHARLES, La. (Legal Newsline) – The State of Louisiana’s lawsuit against a pharmaceutical company for allegedly falsely advertising a prescription drug’s effectiveness has been removed to federal court.
State Attorney General James Caldwell and private attorneys he hired filed the lawsuit in 2012 in Louisiana 27th Judicial District Court in St. Landry Parish against Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi Pharmaceuticals, claiming the partnership promoted the drug Plavix as a “superior drug to aspirin..even though there was no substantial evidence that Plavix was superior to aspirin.”
Caldwell
Caldwell and the private attorneys amended their petition on April 15, and the defendants removed the case to U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
The defendants say new claims made by the State turn on disputed federal questions.
Plavix is a blood thinner used to prevent blood clots, heart attacks and strokes. The lawsuit alleged the partnership failed to tell patients of adverse affects the drug had in some patient populations, and “deliberately promoting uses of Plavix that are not approved by the FDA and that are not eligible for reimbursement by government programs.”
Caldwell is seeking restitution and a $5,000 civil penalty per violation plus court costs.
Private attorneys working on the lawsuit include James P. Ryan, Patrick C. Morrow, Jeffrey M. Bassett, P. Craig Morrow and Tyalor J. Bassett of Morrow, Morrow, Ryan & Bassett in Opelousas; Robert L. Salim and Barrett L. Beasley of Salim-Beasley, LLC of Natchitoches; and Kelvin G. Sanders of Kelvin Sanders, LLC in Alexandria.
