Jeff Gibbs Cited as FDA Law Authority by Federal Appeals Court

On May 7, 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit decided the case of Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Company v. G. David Scyster, No. 06-1334. The case relates to a lawsuit where the plaintiff asserted that it had no liability for injuries associated with allegedly contaminated drugs. The plaintiff specifically asserted that the defendants were engaged in the unlawful manufacturing of those drugs. The Court of Appeals addressed whether a state statute barred the manufacture of those drugs, and whether it defined a “patient/practitioner/pharmacist” relationship.

The Court relied on Jeff Gibbs to help answer this question. The Court stated:

“It is by no means self-evident that this relationship is absent when a physician has relationships with both a patient and a pharmacist and obtains medications from the pharmacist for in-office administration, as Jeffrey Gibbs, a longtime food and drug lawyer who has served as associate and [Deputy Associate] chief counsel for enforcement at the Food and Drug Administration, noted in a deposition.”