US court voids drug rep's conviction, cites free speech

A divided federal appeals court on Monday threw out the conviction of a sales representative for promoting off-label use of a prescription drug, a ruling that could make it harder for the government to police how drugs are marketed and sold.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York found that the sales representative's free speech rights under the First Amendment had been violated.

"In the fields of medicine and public health, where information can save lives, it only furthers the public interest

to ensure that decisions about the use of prescription drugs, including off-label usage, are intelligent and well-informed," Circuit Judge Denny Chin wrote for a 2-1 majority. The decision overturned the October 2008 conviction of Alfred Caronia, a sales representative for Orphan Medical Inc, now part of Jazz Pharmaceuticals Plc.

Using drugs "off-label" means that they are taken for conditions other than those for which they received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.

Many large healthcare settlements with the U.S. Government have involved off-label promotions, including GlaxoSmithKline Plc's $3 billion accord in July over several medicines, and Pfizer Inc's $2.3 billion accord in 2009 over treatments such as the anti-inflammatory drug Bextra. Matthew Bennett, vice-president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, an industry lobby, in a statement said the group was "pleased that the Second Circuit has recognized that the FDA's ability to regulate communication about medicines is circumscribed by the rights protected by the First Amendment."

An FDA spokeswoman declined to comment. The U.S. Justice Department, which prosecuted Caronia, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

CONSPIRACY CONVICTION

Caronia had appealed his conviction by a Brooklyn, New York, jury on one count of conspiracy for introducing a misbranded drug into interstate commerce, violating the federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act.

... contd.

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