IMS Health Inc. v. Sorrell, No. 09-1913

First Amendment to Prescriber-Identifiable Data Sale Ban

In IMS Health Inc. v. Sorrell, No. 09-1913, a First Amendment challenge to a Vermont statute banning the sale, transmission, or use of prescriber-identifiable data (PI data) for marketing or promoting a prescription drug unless the prescriber consents, the court reversed judgment for defendants where, because the statute was a commercial speech restriction that did not directly advance the substantial state interests asserted by Vermont, and was not narrowly tailored to serve those interests, the statute could not survive intermediate scrutiny under Central Hudson.

As the court wrote:  "The appellants, IMS Health Inc., Verispan, LLC, Source Healthcare Analytics, Inc., and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America ("PhRMA") (collectively, "the appellants") challenge a Vermont statute banning the sale, transmission, or use of prescriber-identifiable data ("PI data") for marketing or promoting a prescription drug unless the prescriber consents."

Related Resources

• Read the Second Circuit's Decision in IMS Health Inc. v. Sorrell, No. 09-1913