Plaintiff May Amend Warning, Fraud Claims in Truvada Action, Hawaii Federal Judge Rules

HONOLULU — A Hawaii federal judge has allowed the plaintiff in a case targeting Gilead Sciences Inc.’s HIV drug Truvada to replead his failure-to-warn claims, finding they are not preempted by federal law because the drug maker could have changed the label via the FDA’s Changes Being Effected process.

In an Aug. 31 order, Judge Derrick K. Watson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii further ruled that the plaintiff may amend his fraud and breach of warranty claims. However, the judge held that the design defect claims are preempted because Gilead could not unilaterally change the …