Supreme Court decision on Vermont anti-detailing law has important implications for promotion of drugs and medical devices

On June 23, 2011, the United States Supreme Court held in a 6-3 decision that a Vermont law prohibiting pharmaceutical manufacturers from purchasing or using prescriber-identifying data in connection with detailing of physicians violated the manufacturers’ First Amendment free speech rights. Sorrell v. IMS Health Inc., No. 10-779, Slip Op. (June 23, 2011).