Pfizer unit agreed to settle three women's claims that its hormone-replacement drug Provera caused their breast cancer, leaving only the Madison-based drugmaker Wyeth to face the women in a trial in less than three weeks.
Pfizer's Pharmacia & Upjohn unit agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to Arlene Rowatt, Jeraldine Scofield and Pamela Forrester to resolve accusations that the company didn't adequately warn them about Provera's breast cancer risk. Pfizer, the world's largest drugmaker, markets Provera to help women deal with symptoms of menopause.
''The settlement is in no way an admission by Pharmacia that Provera contributed to breast cancer in any of the three women involved this case," Pfizer spokeswoman Bryant Haskins said today in an interview.
The accord means the women won't press their Provera claims against the Pfizer unit when the case goes to trial Sept. 10 in state court in Reno, Nevada. Rowatt, Scofield and Forrester also are suing Wyeth over its menopause medicines.
Wyeth faces more than 5,000 product-liability suits over its hormone-replacement drugs Premarin and Prempro. A 2002 study found women taking the drugs to deal with hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms had an increased rate of breast cancer.
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2 comments:
''The settlement is in no way an admission by Pharmacia that Provera contributed to breast cancer in any of the three women involved this case."…..right, this reminds me of the OJ Simpson trial. OJ was acquitted in criminal court but found guilty in civil court. Just because Pharmacia won’t admit guilt doesn’t mean they are not guilty.
I hope to God that the lawyers checked out these women's background to be sure that they hadn't ever been smokers, or if they'd ever lived with smokers, because everyone knows that second hand smoke is just as bad as smoking. And if any of these women DID smoke or had lived in a smoking household, then they shouldn't get a dime, because you wouldn't be able to tell if their cancer was from that or the drugs. My Mother took Premarin since the 40's and never had cancer. Of course, she never smoked nor lived in a household with smoke. I just think that some of these people jump on the "Gimme money" band wagon and the doctors and lawyers and prosecutors need to delve further into these people's past to see what REALLY caused the breast cancer.
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