Learned Intermediary Doctrine Bars Plavix Failure-To-Warn Claims, N.J. Judge Rules

TRENTON, N.J. - A New Jersey federal judge has granted Bristol Myers–Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) and Sanofi–Aventis U.S. (NYSE: SNY) summary judgment on claims that they failed to adequately warn doctors of the risk of severe bleeding associated with Plavix.

On Jan. 28, Judge Freda Wolfson of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey found the plaintiff failed to show that a different warning would have altered a surgeon’s decision to prescribe the drug to her late husband.

Ralph Carr had a heart attack in May 2005 and underwent a quadruple coronary artery bypass grafting and a …