Supreme Court Review Of Athena Cosmetics Case, Federal Preemption Argument Unlikely

Federal food and drug law does not impliedly preempt Allergan's suit against Athena Cosmetics alleging that the defendant's RevitaLash products compete unfairly against the drug firm's Latisse treatment in California, according to a brief filed by Solicitor General Donald Verrilli with the Supreme Court. Athena has argued that the absence of FDA action against its eyelash enhancers signals that their cosmetic positioning is lawful, but Verrilli disagrees, maintaining that such litigation can supplement rather than conflict with FDA regulation.

Lack of FDA action on drug-like products marketed as cosmetics does not mean the agency tacitly approves of their positioning, nor should it necessarily shield manufacturers from being held accountable under related state laws, suggests Solicitor General Donald Verrilli in a May 26 amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court.

"There is no split of authority on whether suits under state law to restrain the sale of unapproved drugs are preempted" by the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act, Verrilli

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