Defending the Pharmaceutical Industry
In the high-stakes areas of pharmaceutical and mass tort litigation,
many companies turn to Coughlin Duffy LLP's expertise in defending
the pharmaceutical industry. We routinely handle matters for pharmaceutical
manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and their insurers, ranging
from individual suits to multi-plaintiff consolidated matters to
class actions. Whether we are facing a single plaintiff, hundreds
of related or coordinated claims, or a high-profile, bet-the-company
lawsuit, we offer the resources and the experience necessary to assure
our clients of an aggressive, comprehensive, yet cost-effective defense
of their interests.
Our Capabilities
We provide focused excellence in pharmaceuticals. Our expertise in
defending pharmaceutical manufacturers covers a full range of products,
extending
to prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, vaccines, and
supplements. We have successfully defended the design and the manufacture
of our clients' products, as well as the warnings, package inserts,
and other promotional materials associated with those products, in
state and federal courts across the country. We understand the interplay
between law, science, and medicine, and routinely marshal those disciplines
for our clients' maximum advantage. We have served as New Jersey
and regional counsel for major national and international pharmaceutical
companies defending a host of different pharmaceutical products,
both in individual-plaintiff cases and in consolidated mass tort
litigations. Of course, our help is not limited to when litigation
arises; we routinely advise and counsel pharmaceutical manufacturers
on ways to diffuse disputes prior to litigation and to minimize their
risk of future claims. Some of our current and recent engagements
for the pharmaceutical industry include:
- Serving as New Jersey counsel for a major international pharmaceutical
manufacturer in nationwide mass tort litigation involving recalled over-the-counter
products containing phenylpropanolamine.
- Acting as New Jersey counsel for a major international pharmaceutical manufacturer in one of the largest nationwide mass torts involving a recalled prescription cholesterol-lowering pharmaceutical.
- Serving as New Jersey counsel for a major pharmaceutical manufacturer in nationwide mass tort litigation involving hormone replacement therapy.
- Representing a major international pharmaceutical manufacturer in consolidated litigation arising out of decades-old polio vaccinations.
- Representing a major international pharmaceutical manufacturer in various individual suits alleging development of severe adverse reactions to prescription antibiotics.
- Defending a major producer of factor concentrate against consolidated litigation in New Jersey alleging HIV exposure.
- Defending a major international pharmaceutical company in nationwide litigation involving a prescription medication for irritable bowel syndrome.
- Representing a major international pharmaceutical company in the first case in New Jersey alleging the development of mesothelioma due to IPV.
- Advising pharmaceutical companies involved in threatened breach of contract claims with a joint developer of a potential new pharmaceutical product.
- Preparation and review of supply and distribution agreements between pharmaceutical companies and distributors.
- Preparation and review of warning labels and package inserts for pharmaceutical manufacturers.
- Review and comment on product safety programs.
Related Pharmaceutical Services
We also represent a variety of businesses that provide related services
to the pharmaceutical industry. These clients, which range in size
from publicly traded companies to small businesses, offer a variety
of services, including marketing, sales, market research, medical education
programs, web-based patient education programs, and brand positioning.
We are proficient not only in defending our clients
in litigation when claims arise, but are also able to provide sound
and practical advice to help minimize and eliminate the likelihood
of potential future claims. Some of the matters for which we have
counseled and defended clients in this area include:
- Serving as national coordinating counsel for a publicly traded
premier healthcare sales and marketing company that provided
marketing and sales support to the manufacturer of a recalled
prescription pharmaceutical in one of the largest nationwide
pharmaceutical mass torts.
- Defending a client that provided marketing and sales support
to the manufacturer of a prescription pain medication involved
in numerous product liability lawsuits.
- Counseling a client that provided marketing and sales support to two pharmaceutical companies that were jointly involved in marketing a pharmaceutical diagnostic test when our client became caught in a dispute and litigation between those two companies.
- Representing a client that was subjected to numerous third-party
subpoenas and discovery requests arising out of its sales, marketing,
and
brand positioning consulting work for a major international pharmaceutical
company facing multiple product liability lawsuits.
- Representing a client that does marketing research for the pharmaceutical
industry on a national basis.
Sound and Efficient Litigation Management
Today's
pharmaceutical and mass tort litigation often extends beyond a
single plaintiff or even a single state.
We have extensive experience with the efficient management of individual,
consolidated, and class action claims at the local,
regional, and national levels throughout New Jersey and across the country. Our
attorneys have actively litigated in the trial and appellate courts
— state and federal — in New Jersey, New York, and a
host of other jurisdictions. In particular, we have appeared before
all
of New
Jersey's designated mass tort judges, as well as before a
myriad of other state and federal jurists handling single and multi-district
litigations. We have significant experience in the areas of electronic
discovery and document production, fact-gathering and witness interviews,
written and deposition discovery, and expert retention and development,
and our written and oral advocacy is second to none. Our attorneys,
many of whom have extensive trial experience, are highly skilled
in preparing our clients' cases for trial and will zealously
defend their products in the courtroom. Because of our broad experience,
we are particularly well positioned to guide and assist our clients
through the numerous legal issues and challenges presented by these
kinds of claims and to defend them against the onslaught of the
organized plaintiffs' bar.
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