Wyeth wins Maryland thimerosal autism case

Feb 20 2008

Wyeth has announced that The Honorable Stuart R. Berger of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City in Baltimore, Maryland, has granted Wyeth's motion for summary judgment in the case of Blackwell, et al. v. Sigma Aldrich, Inc., et al - an alleged vaccine injury case claiming that Jamarr Blackwell's exposure to thimerosal-containing vaccines caused him to become autistic.

Previously, the Court had granted Wyeth's motion to preclude all five of plaintiffs' expert witnesses from offering testimony at trial following extensive briefing and a 10-day evidentiary hearing held by the Court last August.

In his December 21, 2007 Memorandum and Order pertaining to Wyeth's evidentiary motion, Judge Berger found that "it is generally accepted in the relevant scientific community that thimerosal in vaccines does not cause or contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism," also noting that "it is generally accepted in the relevant scientific community that autism is genetic in origin except in rare instances of prenatal exposures to certain substances at defined periods during pregnancy."

"This is a significant victory for good science generally," says Daniel J. Thomasch, a partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, who served as lead counsel for Wyeth in this matter. "The Court appropriately found that plaintiffs' attempt to link autism to childhood vaccines is contrary to generally accepted science."