The three women who alleged that taking the menopause drug, Prempro, made by Pfizer’s Wyeth and Pharmacia Upjohn units gave them breast cancer, had their day in court. After two days of deliberations before a Philadelphia jury, on December 6, the jury decided that the three should be awarded $72.3 million in damages. A Pfizer spokesman said they were disappointed with the verdict and would weigh their legal options.
Prempro was given to more than six million women to treat hot flashes and mood swings. While it is still on the market, a study in 2002, called the Women’s Health Initiative, found links to cancer. The drug combines Premarin, the estrogen-based drug made from a pregnant mare’s urine, with Provera, which contains progestin.
Litigation often comes down to numbers. There have been 18 Prempro cases, reports Bloomberg, and Wyeth/Upjohn has lost 10 before juries. There have been some successes for Pfizer as some cases were thrown out after and before trial, or settlements were offered and accepted.
Pfizer, the world’s largest drug company, agreed to the settlement one day before jurors were to consider the company’s liability, which could have included huge punitive damages.
Pfizer has set aside $772 million to help resolve the claims which so far, which represent just one-third of the pending cases.
Defective Product Cases
In a Florida pharmaceutical litigation case, a product on the market that has caused harm, is alleged to be defective in its manufacture, its design, or in a failure to warn. In this case, a damaging bit of evidence was an internal letter from a Wyeth manager who wrote “the desire for increased sales has overruled our company’s ethical responsibility to promote our products safely.”
Despite the additional evidence of a link to cancer, Pfizer/Wyeth never changed its label to better inform consumers and physicians of the safety issues associated with Prempro. If a consumer does not receive informed consent, that is negligence on the part of the manufacturer.
Farah & Farah’s Florida Prempro side effect attorneys can help evaluate your defective product case by calling (800) 533-3555.
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-06/pfizer-prempro-drug-caused-women-s-breast-cancer-jury-rules.html
