RALEIGH, N.C.
(AP) — North Carolina
could become just the second state in the country to protect pharmaceutical companies
from almost all lawsuits for the harm a drug may cause.

The state House is to vote Wednesday on legislation that
would grant immunity from lawsuits to companies if the Food and Drug
Administration approved the drug for sale.

Michigan
is the only state with a similar law. That state’s appeals court ruled in March
that the law barred Michigan
officials from suing Merck & Co. to recover millions of dollars spent on
Vioxx, an arthritis drug pulled from the market because of health risks in
2004.

A lawyer who’s represented drug companies says they want
protection from the whims of jurors lacking scientific expertise whose
decisions could overrule years of research by regulators.