Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ADVERTISING NEWS: Sandoz and American Regent Accused of Falsely Advertising Phenylephrine Injection Products , (Mar 18, 2013)

By William Zale, J.D.

West-Ward Pharmaceutical Corp. has asserted Lanham Act false advertising and New Jersey unfair competition claims against Sandoz Inc. and American Regent, Inc. for marketing injectable phenylephrine injection products with allegedly false and potentially dangerous labels indicating that their drugs can be used to treat conditions including vascular failure in shock. The complaint in West-Ward v. Sandoz, Inc. was filed in the federal district court in Trenton on March 14, 2013.

West-Ward alleges that it has invested in developing phenylephrine injection products and in securing Food and Drug Administration approval for scientifically accepted medical uses. The defendants allegedly promote their phenylephrine injection products for uses that lack any meaningful scientific support, use misleading descriptions of the conditions that the drugs are intended to treat, and misstate the safety of their drugs, in order to gain an unfair competitive advantage over West-Ward.

West-Ward asserts that the defendants’ unsupported establishment claims and false or misleading statements constitute false advertising in violation Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act and unfair competition under the common law of New Jersey. West-Ward requests injunctive relief and awards of damages and attorney fees.

The case is No. 3:13-cv-01581-MAS-TJB.

Attorneys: Robert A. Magnanini (Stone & Magnanini LLP) for West-Ward Pharmaceutical Corp.

Companies: West-Ward Pharmaceutical Corp.; Sandoz Inc.; American Regent, Inc.

News: Advertising