A Nevada jury didn't buy Wyeth's defense of its menopause drugs Premarin and Prempro. It awarded $134.5 million in compensation to three women who claimed the drugs caused their breast cancer. And this is far from the only lawsuit over the hormone replacement drugs; some 5,400 similar complaints are pending across the country. And that figure doesn't include possible punitive damages; that phase of the trial comes next.
Twenty similar cases have already been resolved: three in favor of the company, three dismissed on summary judgment, two in favor of the plaintiffs (but jury awards were set aside by the courts), and 12 others withdrawn by the plaintiffs before trial. No word on how many of those--if any--included monetary settlements from the company.
- read the Boston Globe article