US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler has refused to appear at a deposition in connection with the Washington Legal Foundation's First Amendment litigation against the FDA (Marketletter April 22). He has asked the court to quash the deposition, saying he is "a high-level government official who should not be subjected to the burdens associated with a deposition absent extraordinary circumstances."
WLF attorneys responded by vowing to obtain a court order for Dr Kessler to testify, saying that this is crucial to establishing that the FDA has been "running roughshod over First Amendment rights." WLF chief counsel Richard Samp said it was outrageous that Dr Kessler feels he is above the law and not subject to the same rules as anyone else, including President and Mrs Clinton.
The deposition concerns the WLF's suit challenging the FDA crackdown on dissemination of information on off-label uses of FDA-approved drugs and devices, which argues that FDA restrictions violate the First Amendment rights of both providers and recipients of such information.
This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.
Login to your accountTry before you buy
7 day trial access
Become a subscriber
Or £77 per month
The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed
Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK
Copyright © The Pharma Letter 2024 | Headless Content Management with Blaze