The California Supreme Court on Monday reversed a lower court’s decision denying summary judgment to Gilead in a class action accusing the pharmaceutical giant of deliberately delaying development of a new HIV treatment drug to maximize the value of the drug it was currently selling.
The ruling overturns a state appellate court’s conclusion that the plaintiffs did not have to claim the product was defective to bring a negligence claim.
“What today’s decision declines to do is recognize, for the first time anywhere, sweeping liability for injuries caused by a concededly nondefective drug because the manufacturer allegedly failed to make a different drug available sooner,” Justice Joshua P. Groban wrote for the majority.
The case stems from claims by people living with HIV/AIDS who say they suffered unnecessary kidney, bone and tooth damage after taking Gilead’s HIV drug tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, or TDF, which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved in 2001.
While clinically testing TDF, Gilead also began developing a backup drug, tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (TAF). …
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The plaintiffs do not claim TDF is defective. Instead, they contend Gilead knew TAF posed fewer side effects but deliberately delayed its development to maximize profits from TDF.
