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Walgreens makes defense in case over whether it can promote product as good for cuts

LEGAL NEWSLINE

Saturday, November 23, 2024

Walgreens makes defense in case over whether it can promote product as good for cuts

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CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) - We have the approval of the Food and Drug Administration, Walgreens says as it fights a class action that says it shouldn't promote hydrogen peroxide to help with minor cuts and abrasions.

Plaintiff Jim Novotney filed suit June 30 in Chicago federal court over its brand of 3% hydrogen peroxide. He is represented by Spencer Sheehan of New York, who says the Mayo Clinic and medical studies advise the product does not help treat cuts and abrasions.

But it would be inappropriate for a judge to penalize the company, it says, because its label complies with FDA labeling requirements formed by a 1991 Tentative Final Monograph that became final in 2021.

"The FDA also requires a first aid antiseptic, like the product, to identify as a 'first aid antiseptic' and describe its use as follows: 'First aid to help prevent the risk of infection in minor cuts, scrapes and burns,'" a motion to dismiss filed Nov. 7 says.

The lawsuit details how the body heals a cut then states, "Though hydrogen peroxide may kill some potentially harmful bacteria, it destroys a greater amount of positive bacteria and healthy cells that promote healing."

Other studies claim hydrogen peroxide can cause severe toxicity, the suit says. 

"Plaintiff’s state law claims are still preempted regardless of the efficacy of the Product’s antiseptic properties because the Product label is consistent with FDA labeling requirements," the motion to dismiss says.

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