July 2002-September 3, 2002: FDA Chief Counsel Intervenes in Lawsuit on Behalf of Drug Company

Pfizer attorney Malcolm Wheeler calls FDA chief counsel Daniel E. Troy requesting that the agency intervene in a lawsuit filed against the company. The lawsuit alleges that Zoloft, an antidepressant drug manufactured by Pfizer, caused Victor Motus of California to kill himself on November 12, 1998. It also says that the drug company should have warned physicians that Zoloft might cause suicidal thoughts in some people. On September 3, the FDA files a brief stating that the agency’s scientists have found no evidence that antidepressants cause suicidal thoughts. Furthermore, the FDA argues, if Pfizer had warned doctors of such a link, it would have been a violation of the law because all warnings must first be vetted by the FDA. According to Troy, the agency has “absolute control over the label.” This position, notes one of the plaintiff attorneys in the Pfizer case, contradicts arguments that Troy made when he was practicing in the private sector. Before he had argued that the agency’s rulings were arbitrary and capricious. [Boston Globe, 12/22/2002]