The U.S. Supreme Court has heard oral argument in the much-anticipated Mutual Pharmaceuticals v. Bartlett case, No. 12-142 (on appeal from the First Circuit Bartlett v. Mutual Pharms. Co., 678 F.3d 30 (1st Cir. 2012)). The Supreme Court will determine what most thought seemed already decided by PLIVA Inc. v. Mensing, 131 S. Ct. 2567 (2011): whether design defect claims against generic drug manufacturers are preempted by federal law, and whether manufacturers can be held liable when their only other option is to withdraw from the market.

Originally published in Life Sciences Law360 on April 1, 2013.