Vt. law on drug data mining ruled unconstitutional

By JOHN CURRAN

MONTPELIER, Vt.

An appeals court says a Vermont law that restricts companies' use of information about the drugs doctors prescribe is unconstitutional.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled Tuesday that the law on so-called data mining is a commercial free speech restriction that violates the First Amendment.

Three companies -- IMS Health, SDI and Source Healthcare Analytics -- had sued over the law, which was enacted in July 2009. The companies gather data on drugs ordered by doctors and sell it to pharmaceutical manufacturers.