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LANSING – State Representatives Deb Kennedy (D-Brownstown). Dian Slavens (D-Canton) and Andrew Kandrevas (D-Southgate) today took a stand for Michigan residents who have been harmed by dangerous prescription drugs by voting to repeal a state law that gives drug companies complete immunity when their products harm or kill.

"Drug companies must be held to the same standard as any other company that does business in Michigan," said Slavens, a former respiratory therapist. "The stakes are even higher for drug companies – a faulty prescription drug can be a matter of life or death for our residents. If a company sells a product that harms or kills, we must allow our residents to hold them accountable – it's just that simple."

House Democrats have been fighting to repeal drug industry immunity since 2005. The House took action to end drug industry immunity in 2007, but the plan met with opposition in the Republican-controlled Senate. The plan that passed the Michigan House today will:

• Repeal a 1996 law granting immunity to drug companies. Passed by then-Governor John Engler and the Republican-controlled Legislature, the law gives companies complete immunity in Michigan when their products harm or kill if the drug has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
• Make the repeal retroactive so Michigan residents who have been harmed by dangerous drugs since 1996 can hold drug companies accountable.
• Include drug companies in the Consumer Protection Act, from which they are exempt.

Recent action in the U.S. Supreme Court and in Georgia has called attention to the flaws in Michigan's drug industry immunity law.

"Michigan residents have been silenced by our state's unfair law for 13 years, and that's far too long," said Kennedy, a sponsor of the package. "This plan will empower our residents to hold drug companies accountable when their products destroy their health or kill a loved one, and it gives a voice to those who have suffered in silence for years. I urge the Senate to take quick action on this plan."

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on March 4 that a drug manufacturer is responsible for the content of its label if the product causes harm or death, despite FDA approval of the label.^[1] The ruling came in the case of a woman who took action to hold drug maker Wyeth accountable when she lost her arm to gangrene after being injected with an anti-nausea medication.

In 2005 claims by 187 Michigan residents against Warner-Lambert, maker of the diabetes drug Rezulin, were dismissed by a New York federal court judge because of the Michigan law. Rezulin was pulled off the market in 2000 after it was linked to nearly 400 deaths and thousands of cases of liver failure.^[2] Vioxx, an anti-inflammatory drug that its maker, Merck, pulled off the market in 2004, may have caused heart attacks or cardiac deaths in up to 139,000 Americans, based on Merck's own studies.^[3] Bextra was taken off the market in 2005 due to an increased risk of heart attack and serious skin reactions among the painkiller's users.  

In the wake of scandals surrounding drugs such as Vioxx, Rezulin and Bextra, there have been revelations that members of FDA drug-approval boards have ties to the pharmaceutical industry. The public testimony of FDA scientists such as Dr. David Graham has indicated that the FDA's system for drug evaluation is "broken."^[4]

"Under this plan, our residents will finally have the same consumer protections as everyone else in the country," Kandrevas said. "To watch a family member suffer or die with no recourse is an unacceptable tragedy. Too many Michigan residents have suffered with no voice as the drug companies have reaped all the profits. People's health must come before drug company interests."