Motion To Dismiss Filed in Combination Aspirin MDL

Bayer Healthcare LLC moved last week to dismiss the master complaint in the federal MDL involving combination aspirin products. In Re: Bayer Corp. Combination Aspirin Products Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, No. 1:09-md-02023 (E.D. N.Y.). Aspirin has been sold in the United States for more than a hundred years; a daily regimen of low-dose aspirin is widely recognized as useful in preventing heart attacks and strokes.

Plaintiffs are consumers who claim to have purchased Bayer combination aspirin and dietary supplement products. They do not claim that they were injured by these products or that the products were ineffective. Instead, plaintiffs seek damages because they say they would not have purchased these products if they had known that Bayer, instead of submitting a New Drug Application (“NDA”) for each of these combination products, relied on the preexisting separate regulatory review of aspirin and the supplements. Plaintiffs allege that Bayer misled and deceived

consumers into believing that the products had been proven to be safe and effective for their marketed purposes.

The Motion argues that plaintiffs’ claims fail, first, because they are, in essence, private attempts to enforce the FDCA, 21 U.S.C. §301 et seq. MassTortDefense notes that courts have repeatedly refused to construe such private attempts to enforce the FDCA as valid state law causes of action like the plaintiffs have brought in this litigation. Under the FDCA, the United States government has the exclusive power to enforce the FDA’s regulatory requirements (which include provisions relating to the approval of new prescription and over-the-counter drugs, as well as regulation of dietary supplements and food additives). The FDCA provides that “[a]ll such proceedings for the enforcement, or to restrain violations, of this Act, shall be by and in the name of the United States.” 21 U.S.C. § 337(a) (2009).

Even if a state were to recognize it, a cause of action based on a failure to obtain FDA approval would be preempted as interfering with the FDA’s approval processes. Courts have repeatedly held that private plaintiffs fail to state a claim where they, in essence, seek redress for a violation of the FDCA. Courts have applied this doctrine to dismiss a variety of causes of action, from RICO and the Lanham Act, to state law unfair competition and consumer fraud act claims. See, e.g., Mylan Labs. v. Matkari, 7 F.3d 1130, 1139 (4th Cir. 1993) (dismissing Lanham Act claim); In re Epogen & Aranesp Off-Label Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., 590 F. Supp. 2d 1282, 1290 (C.D. Cal. 2008) (dismissing state consumer fraud and false advertising and RICO claims); Ethex v. First

Horizon Pharm. Corp., 228 F. Supp. 2d 1048, 1055 (E.D. Mo. 2002) (dismissing deceptive trade practices claims and Lanham Act claim).

Additionally, defendant argues that plaintiffs, who do not claim harm or that their products did not work, have not alleged a cognizable injury. Accordingly, plaintiffs have not stated a claim for any of the causes of action they have brought. Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), a complaint must be dismissed if it fails to articulate grounds upon which relief can be granted. Under Rule 8(a), a plaintiff’s obligation to provide the grounds of his entitlement to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do. Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 US 544, 555 (2007). The Supreme Court recently reaffirmed these principles in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937 (2009).

These standards apply to injury and loss requirements as well as to other elements of a claim. As the Second Circuit recently explained, to state a claim for relief, a plaintiff must do more than simply allege an injury or loss – that theory must be “plausible.” McLaughlin v. American Tobacco Co., 522 F.3d 215, 227 (2d Cir. 2008). Legally cognizable theories of injury must also not require a court to “engage in a series of speculative calculations to ascertain whether, or in what amount, plaintiffs suffered a loss.” Id. at 230. Like many convoluted consumer fraud actions, plaintiffs' claims here fail to allege a plausible theory that is open to private plaintiffs.