some 80% of all drugs consumed in the United States are exempt from liability for side effects

7-7-13    Justices cited the fact that all generic drugs and their manufacturers, some 80% of all drugs consumed in the United States, are exempt from liability for side effects, mislabeling or virtually any other negative reactions caused by their drugs.  In short, the Court ruled that the FDA has ultimate authority over pharmaceuticals in the US.  And if the FDA says a drug is safe, that takes precedent over actual facts, real victims and any and all adverse reactions. 

The Court's ruling a week ago on behalf of generic drug makers is actually a continuation of a ruling made by the same Court in 2011.  At that time, the Justices ruled that the original inventors and manufacturers of pharmaceutical drugs, also known as 'name brand' drugs, are the only ones that can be sued for mislabeling, fraud or adverse drug reactions and side effects.  If the generic versions of the drugs are made from the exact same formula and labeled with the exact same warnings as their brand name counterparts, the generics and their manufacturers were not liable. https://www.sott.net/article/263713-Supreme-Court-rules-drug-companies-exempt-from-lawsuits

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10-9-17    The Sackler family has amassed a multi-billion dollar fortune through Purdue Pharma – the drug manufacturer widely accused of helping launch the opioid epidemic – but a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation found no evidence the family is using their vast personal wealth to help victims fight their addiction....

OxyContin – a breakthrough opioid-based painkiller and Purdue’s largest revenue source – generated about $35 billion in sales from between 1995 and 2015, according to Forbes.  The drug is widely considered a crucial player in sparking the opioid epidemic and made the Sacklers the 19th-richest family in 2016 America, with a $13 billion net worth.   More than 50,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses in 2016, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show....

Purdue Pharma and three top executives pleaded guilty in 2007 to criminal charges that Purdue misled doctors about OxyContin’s addictiveness and its potential for abuse between 1996 and 2001.  The company and the executives were ordered to pay $635 million – less than one-quarter of the revenue OxyContin generated during those six years – but no one went to jail.

Not only were no Sacklers punished, but the family also largely avoided public scrutiny.  The guilty plea, however, didn’t reverse the damage.  The number of deaths related to OxyContin’s crucial, highly-addictive ingredient, oxycodone, increased five-fold in that time period, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.  The aggressive tactics were highly successful.  Other drug manufacturers later began trying to get their opioids prescribed for routine injuries, according to the Los Angeles Times.  One out of every five doctors visits resulted in an opioid prescription in 2010, and OxyContin made up one-third of all sales revenue from painkillers.      http://dailycaller.com/2017/10/09/american-cartel-billionaire-family-behind-oxycontin-apparently-spends-zilch-rehabbing-addicts/

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3-22-11   A U.S. Supreme Court decision has just given drug companies total liability protection for injuries and deaths caused by government mandated vaccines.  The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) called the decision a "betrayal" of the American consumer.

In a 6-2 decision, the Court majority voted to reject substantial evidence that current law was fully intended to protect an American's right to sue a pharmaceutical corporation for injuries that could have been prevented if the company had elected to make a safer vaccine.

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/03/22/betrayal-of-consumers-by-us-supreme-court-gives-total-liability-shield-to-big-pharma.aspx

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6-24-13    Monday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling immunizing drug companies from lawsuit for egregious injuries wasn’t terribly surprising for those who have been following along. Two years ago, in a case called PLIVA v. Mensing, the U.S. Supreme Court held that generic drug companies were largely immune from lawsuits alleging their failure to warn of harmful consequences. On Monday, in a 5–4 ruling along ideological lines, the court extended this holding to apply to other types of claims against generic drug manufacturers, and held that a federal statute precluded suit by a woman who incurred burns on 60 percent of her body and was rendered legally blind by an alleged drug defect.

This ruling was a predictable addition to the line of cases immunizing big business from liability...In other words, if the FDA says something is safe, it doesn't matter if that decision is wrong or the result of lies, fraud or deception on the part of the world's pharmaceutical companies.  And there's no way to sue the FDA for being wrong and costing millions of unsuspecting Americans their lives.  That result leaves 240 million Americans unprotected from an industry responsible for more preventable deaths in the US than any other cause.    https://thinkprogress.org/generic-drug-companies-get-even-more-immunity-from-the-roberts-five-55195a497c56/

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6-21-16      You’re at the pharmacy filling a prescription.  The pharmacist asks, “Generic okay?”  Without giving it a second thought, you say, “Sure,” (like we all do) and you’re on your way.  Not so fast.  If you had taken the brand-name drug, and it turned out that the drug was defective and caused you an injury (like cancer or a stroke) – you could bring a lawsuit against the brand-name drug company and make it pay restitution and reparations.  But, if you took the generic form of the drug – you would have absolutely no recourse against the company that made and sold the defective drug.      http://www.spanglaw.com/blog/2016/june/generic-drug-manufacturers-still-immune-from-law/