The Court ruled that the jury was appropriately permitted to decide whether or not the printed words of warning were in effect cancelled out or rendered meaningless in light of the sales effort made by the detail men. In the case of Fen-Phen and Redux, the promotional efforts of the drugs' sponsors will likely be scrutinized. In 1995, Fenfluramine prescriptions doubled to one million and soared to 7,000,000 prescriptions written for 1996. An article appearing in the Newark Star Ledger attributed a statement to American Home Products Vice President, Fred Hassan, indicating a sales force of over 1000 people devoted to the launch of Redux and an advertising budget of millions. It can therefore be anticipated that the written product warnings will be juxtaposed with the marketing and promotional efforts to ascertain whether the written warnings were effectively nullified by the sales force.
Many unanswered questions remain, both with regard to legal and scientific issues.
Inc. All rights reserved.