McKenney

Appellant Carlyne McKenney brought this civil action against respondent Purepac Pharmaceutical Company (Purepac) and other defendants. Appellant alleges that she was injured as a result of using the prescription drug metoclopramide manufactured by Purepac. The superior court sustained Purepac’s demurrer to McKenney’s fourth amended complaint and entered judgment in favor of Purepac. The pleading alleges that metoclopramide is the active ingredient of the brand name drug Reglan, and that Purepac “distributed the generic drug metoclopramide.” It alleges that there were “false and/or misleading statements contained in” Purepac’s labeling of the drug, and that the labeling “substantially understated and downplayed the risks of tardive dyskinesia,” a condition McKenney contracted as a result of her treatment with metoclopramide. The superior court concluded: “All of Plaintiff’s causes against Purepac are pre-empted by federal law. . . . Defendant Purepac is not the original manufacturer of Reglan. It is a generic manufacturer of metoclopramide and, as such, must obtain approval by the FDA before issuing any label [on] metoclopramide which deviates from the labeling previously…