Court Upholds California County’s Pharmaceutical Waste Law

A federal court has upheld an Alameda County, Calif., pharmaceutical waste law.

A U.S. District judge ruling effectively allows the county Safe Drug Disposal ordinance to go into effect this November, according to the Boston-based Product Stewardship Institute in a news release.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association of America (PHRMA), the Generic Pharmaceutical Association and the Biotechnology Industry Organization filed suit against Alameda County in December 2012, five months after the ordinance was passed.

 The law requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to fund and operate a countywide medication take-back program. PHRMA claimed that the ordinance violated the U.S. Commerce Clause.

U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg wrote in the ruling that the ordinance does not unduly burden interstate commerce.

PHRMA is expected to appeal the ruling.