Patients’ FOIA lawsuit seeks to force FDA to release thalidomide distribution records

From JDSupra:

Attorneys representing a group of U.S. citizens suffering from severe birth defects they believe were caused by the drug thalidomide have filed a lawsuit in federal court to compel the FDA to release records they believe will show the drug was widely distributed in the United States.

The suit, filed on November 15, 2011, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, seeks to compel the FDA to respond to a number of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests by attorneys representing the patients, some filed more than a year ago. Under Federal law, the FDA has 20 business days to respond to a FOIA.