Warning Claims Against Generic Phentermine Maker Preempted, Mo. Federal Judge Rules

ST. LOUIS — A Missouri federal judge has dismissed failure-to-warn and strict liability claims against Teva Pharmaceuticals in a weight-loss drug case, ruling that the claims are federally preempted because the drug is a “generic” form of Phentermine.

On Nov. 28, Judge Steven N. Limbaugh Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri explained that the drug is classified as generic because it was approved by the FDA pursuant to an Abbreviated New Drug Application.

Michelle Laxton originally filed the instant action in the Cape Girardeau County (Mo.) Circuit Court, alleging that her ingestion of Teva’s …