Arizona is first state to pass a law allowing drug makers to promote off-label uses
Ed Silverman @Pharmalot
In what some observers are calling a misguided effort, Arizona has become the first state in the nation to pass a law allowing drug makers to promote their medicines for so-called off-label uses — so long as the information given doctors is truthful.
Interestingly, the law was hatched by the Goldwater Institute, the same think tank that spearheaded the controversial Right to Try laws designed to give patients early access to experimental medicines. And the think tank is vowing to duplicate that campaign by introducing off-label bills around the country.
This move comes amid rising pressure on the Food and Drug Administration to loosen regulations for off-label promotions, which is one of the most contentious issues to roil both the agency and the pharmaceutical industry. At issue is a fierce debate over patient safety and free speech.
Doctors can prescribe a medicine for an off-label — or unapproved — use, but drug makers have battled restrictions on their ability to distribute such information, such as reprints of medical studies. The companies believe free speech is being curtailed and have lobbied Congress and the FDA to loosen regulations. For its part, the FDA worries public health can be jeopardized by promotions that go too far.
Significantly, drug makers were emboldened by a pair of court rulings in recent years that determined companies can disseminate off-label information, so long as it is truthful and not misleading. However, one of those decisions, which was issued by a federal appeals court, only extends to Connecticut, New York, and Vermont, creating uncertainty about whether the issue would be tested elsewhere.
The FDA, meanwhile, has not yet taken any action.
In fact, the agency held a two-day, public meeting last November. But two months ago, the FDA issued a memo that, instead of suggesting possible solutions, simply summarized key points framing the long-running debate and carefully rebuffed many of the suggestions made by drug makers and others that support expanding pharmaceutical marketing.
And so the Goldwater Institute is trying to force the issue with the Free Speech in Medicine Act.
“Curbing the exchange of information about off-label treatments by those with the most knowledge about the drug’s uses, risks, and side effects not only prevents patients from receiving the best possible care; it violates the constitutional right to free speech,” said Christina Sandefur, the executive vice president of the Goldwater Institute, in a statement.
While the Goldwater Institute plans to take its “model law” to other state legislatures, so far, similar bills have not yet been introduced elsewhere, according to Richard Cauchi, health program director at the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Meanwhile, though, one former FDA official, who has publicly urged the FDA to loosen its regulations, believes such state laws would be useless, because they would be preempted by federal law that allows the FDA to issue guidance documents and rules about various activities and requirements.
“It’s nice that the Arizona legislature thinks disseminating off-label information is a good thing, but it’s not their jurisdiction to say so,” said Peter Pitts, a former FDA associate commissioner who heads the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, a think tank that is funded, in part, by the pharmaceutical industry. “I don’t think a challenge in court would last more than five minutes.”
Nonetheless, one consumer advocate, who opposes widening the ability of drug makers to promote off-label uses, fully expects the Goldwater Institute to persist.
“I don’t think the law will change the landscape, but they’re seeking to gin up public attention and become a stepping-stone to try to get Congress to pass laws that would accomplish the same thing on a national level,” said Michael Carome, who heads Public Citizen. “I suspect that’s the ultimate goal.”
As for the Right to Try campaign, 33 states have so far passed such laws and, recently, bills were introduced in the US House and the Senate. Critics say these bills are wrongheaded for trying to cut the FDA out of the process, since regulatory oversight would be removed and drug makers are actually the ultimate gatekeepers for deciding access to their drugs.
Ed Silverman @Pharmalot
In what some observers are calling a misguided effort, Arizona has become the first state in the nation to pass a law allowing drug makers to promote their medicines for so-called off-label uses — so long as the information given doctors is truthful.
Interestingly, the law was hatched by the Goldwater Institute, the same think tank that spearheaded the controversial Right to Try laws designed to give patients early access to experimental medicines. And the think tank is vowing to duplicate that campaign by introducing off-label bills around the country.
This move comes amid rising pressure on the Food and Drug Administration to loosen regulations for off-label promotions, which is one of the most contentious issues to roil both the agency and the pharmaceutical industry. At issue is a fierce debate over patient safety and free speech.
Doctors can prescribe a medicine for an off-label — or unapproved — use, but drug makers have battled restrictions on their ability to distribute such information, such as reprints of medical studies. The companies believe free speech is being curtailed and have lobbied Congress and the FDA to loosen regulations. For its part, the FDA worries public health can be jeopardized by promotions that go too far.
Significantly, drug makers were emboldened by a pair of court rulings in recent years that determined companies can disseminate off-label information, so long as it is truthful and not misleading. However, one of those decisions, which was issued by a federal appeals court, only extends to Connecticut, New York, and Vermont, creating uncertainty about whether the issue would be tested elsewhere.
The FDA, meanwhile, has not yet taken any action.
In fact, the agency held a two-day, public meeting last November. But two months ago, the FDA issued a memo that, instead of suggesting possible solutions, simply summarized key points framing the long-running debate and carefully rebuffed many of the suggestions made by drug makers and others that support expanding pharmaceutical marketing.
And so the Goldwater Institute is trying to force the issue with the Free Speech in Medicine Act.
“Curbing the exchange of information about off-label treatments by those with the most knowledge about the drug’s uses, risks, and side effects not only prevents patients from receiving the best possible care; it violates the constitutional right to free speech,” said Christina Sandefur, the executive vice president of the Goldwater Institute, in a statement.
While the Goldwater Institute plans to take its “model law” to other state legislatures, so far, similar bills have not yet been introduced elsewhere, according to Richard Cauchi, health program director at the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Meanwhile, though, one former FDA official, who has publicly urged the FDA to loosen its regulations, believes such state laws would be useless, because they would be preempted by federal law that allows the FDA to issue guidance documents and rules about various activities and requirements.
“It’s nice that the Arizona legislature thinks disseminating off-label information is a good thing, but it’s not their jurisdiction to say so,” said Peter Pitts, a former FDA associate commissioner who heads the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, a think tank that is funded, in part, by the pharmaceutical industry. “I don’t think a challenge in court would last more than five minutes.”
Nonetheless, one consumer advocate, who opposes widening the ability of drug makers to promote off-label uses, fully expects the Goldwater Institute to persist.
“I don’t think the law will change the landscape, but they’re seeking to gin up public attention and become a stepping-stone to try to get Congress to pass laws that would accomplish the same thing on a national level,” said Michael Carome, who heads Public Citizen. “I suspect that’s the ultimate goal.”
As for the Right to Try campaign, 33 states have so far passed such laws and, recently, bills were introduced in the US House and the Senate. Critics say these bills are wrongheaded for trying to cut the FDA out of the process, since regulatory oversight would be removed and drug makers are actually the ultimate gatekeepers for deciding access to their drugs.
