Novartis Prevails in Calif. Lawsuit Targeting Macular Degeneration Drug Beovu

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit targeting Novartis Pharmaceutical Corp.’s macular degeneration drug Beovu, ruling that because the drug maker enhanced the warnings on the label after the plaintiff used the product and was injured, his claims are preempted.

In a June 11 order, Judge Jesus G. Bernal of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California concluded that the plaintiff failed to show that Novartis had “newly acquired evidence” warranting a label change before December 2019, which is when he was first treated with Bovu.

Raymond Rayes was injected with Beovu …