6th Cir. Upholds Dismissal of Lawsuit Against FDA in Hydroxychloroquine Case

CINCINNATI — A federal appellate panel has upheld dismissal of a lawsuit in which a group of doctors alleged they were injured because they could not prescribe hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 in non-hospitalized patients who had not been diagnosed with the virus.

In a Sept. 9 opinion, the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found the doctors misinterpreted the Food and Drug Administration’s Emergency Use Authorization, which did not limit their ability to prescribe the drug to their patients, who could seek to fill those prescriptions through nongovernmental channels.

Hydroxychloroquine is approved to treat malaria, lupus, and arthritis, but …