Due to the 2017 California Supreme Court decision, Novartis can be found liable not only for cases involving the brand name version of Terbutaline that they manufactured (Brethine), but also for cases where expecting mothers took the generic form of the drug.
As a result, even though Novartis stopped manufacturing Terbutaline and sold the product to another manufacturer before the FDA warned against the drug’s off-label use, the company can still be held liable for the inadequate warning labels on generic versions of the drug, even if they were not produced by Novartis.
In the case involving the fraternal twins, Novartis had argued that it stopped selling Terbutaline six years before the plaintiffs’ mother had taken it, but the court rejected their argument, due to evidence they were aware of the potential dangers of the drug before they sold the brand in 2001.