Opinion ID: 2994938
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: F.R. sec.201.6(a) (general labeling). Glaxo

Text: concedes that it had not conducted any studies that would have allowed it to say that two Zantac 75 tablets would be less (or more) effective than one Zantac 150 tablet for treatment of Mr. Bober’s illness. Glaxo’s position was thus precarious. It had to answer Mr. Bober’s question in a way that did not suggest he could use Zantac 75 for an off label purpose, while at the same time it had to avoid the unsubstantiated suggestion that Zantac 150 would be superior to Zantac 75. This was a fine line to walk, and one not considered in Martin or Weatherman; unlike in those cases, Glaxo was required by federal law to say a certain amount and simultaneously required not to say too much. Glaxo chose to reconcile its competing obligations by answering Bober’s question with the statement you cannot substitute Zantac 75 for Zantac 150. This statement was technically accurate, because only Bober’s doctor could approve an off-label use for Zantac 75 and the substitution of one drug for the other. The statement was also consistent with those federal regulations requiring Glaxo to refrain from suggesting off-label uses for Zantac 75. In protecting itself on that side, however, Glaxo predictably opened itself up to the claim Mr. Bober is now making, namely that the statement improperly suggested that Zantac 150 was superior to Zantac 75. While Glaxo could have added ask your doctor without being accused of suggesting an off-label use and thus perhaps struck a more perfect balance between its competing regulatory obligations, under the circumstances what it chose to say and not to say was a sufficiently careful compromise to fall within what is specifically authorized by federal law. The pharmaceutical industry is highly regulated, both at the federal level and internationally. Technical requirements abound, and it is not only possible but likely that ordinary consumers will find some of them confusing, or possibly misleading as the term is used in statutes like Illinois’s CFA. But, recognizing the primacy of federal law in this field, the Illinois statute itself protects companies from liability if their actions are authorized by federal law. (Such protection would amount to nothing if it applied only to statements that were not susceptible to misunderstanding; those statements would escape liability under the CFA in any event.) Because Glaxo’s statements fall within the boundaries established by federal law, under Weatherman and Martin they are entitled to protection under section 10b(1) of the CFA./5 C Bober’s complaint does not state a claim for relief under the CFA, and the district court properly dismissed Bober’s CFA claim. Because Bober’s civil conspiracy claim depends on his establishing that the defendant drug companies violated the CFA, the district court also properly dismissed that claim. See Adcock v. Brakegate, Ltd., 645 N.E. 2d 888, 894 (Ill. 1994). Our conclusion is the same with respect to Bober’s unjust enrichment claim, as, in the absence of any deception on the part of the defendants, the requisite violation of fundamental principals of justice, equity, and good conscience is not present. See Alliance Acceptance Co. v. Yale Ins. Agency, Inc., 648 N.E.2d 971, 976-77 (Ill. App. Ct. 1995) (quoting HPI Health Care Servs., Inc. v. Mt. Vernon Hosp., Inc., 545 N.E.2d 672, 678-79 (Ill. 1989)).