http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2008..._in_prempro_lawsuit/

Jury favors plaintiff in Prempro lawsuit
February 25, 2008

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—A federal jury on Monday ruled in favor of a Little Rock woman who accused Wyeth Pharmaceuticals of negligence when she got breast cancer after taking the company's hormone replacement therapy.

Jurors, who began deliberating last week, said Wyeth inadequately warned Donna Scroggin that its drugs Premarin and Prempro carried an increased risk of breast cancer. The lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Little Rock also named Upjohn Co., the maker of Provera.

Jurors recommended that Scroggin receive $2.75 million. The punitive phase of the trial is to begin March 3.

Lawsuits against Wyeth have had mixed results. A Little Rock woman, Helene Rush, lost her case against the company last year. A federal appeals court upheld that decision earlier this month.

An Ohio woman was initially awarded $3 million in a case in Pennsylvania, though a judge later overturned the award.

In Reno, Nev., last year, jurors awarded $134 million to three Nevada women who sued over the hormone therapy. But a judge earlier this month cut that amount to about $58 million total -- $23 million in compensatory and $35 million in punitive damages.

The Nevada judgment is the largest award to date against the Madison, N.J.-based company, which faces about 5,300 similar lawsuits across the country in state and federal courts.

All the cases involve the drugs Premarin, an estrogen replacement, and Prempro, a combination of estrogen and progestin.

Both drugs remain on the market and carry the approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and both continue to be prescribed annually to hundreds of thousands of women to alleviate symptoms of menopause.

A jury awarded the plaintiff more than originally expected. Read more in this Associated Press article:

http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2008/03/08/news/030908arpremprotrial.txt

Jury Orders Companies To Pay $27 Million To Woman In Hormone Suit
Last updated Saturday, March 8, 2008 7:19 PM CST in News
By Andrew DeMillo
The Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK - A federal jury on Thursday ordered Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Upjohn to pay more than $27 million to a Little Rock woman who developed breast cancer after taking hormone replacement therapy.

The jury on Thursday ruled Donna Scroggin, who sued the companies in 2004, should receive $19.3 million from Wyeth and $7.7 million from Upjohn in punitive damages. Jurors last month ruled in favor of Scroggin and said Wyeth inadequately warned her its drugs Premarin and Prempro carried an increased risk of breast cancer. The lawsuit also named Upjohn, the maker of Provera.

The jury ruled last month Scroggin should receive $2.75 million in compensatory damages.

"This is a significant victory for al the women of Arkansas and all around this country because this jury said that the suffering of the grandmothers of this country has real value," said Zoe Littlepage, an attorney for Scroggin.

Wyeth said it plans to appeal the ruling.

"There is no basis in fact or law for this award or for the earlier compensatory damage award. We will pursue several post-trial motions and will ultimately appeal the entire case if necessary. We are confident in our position on appeal," said Lyn P. Pruitt, an attorney for Wyeth in the case.

Lawsuits against Wyeth have had mixed results. A Little Rock woman, Helene Rush, lost her case against Wyeth last year and a federal appeals court upheld the decision in February. A federal jury in Little Rock also ruled for Wyeth in 2006 in the first in a series of lawsuits against the New Jersey drugmaker.

An Ohio woman was initially awarded $3 million in a case in Pennsylvania, though a judge later overturned the award. In Reno, Nev., last year, jurors awarded $134 million to three Nevada women who sued over the hormone therapy. But a judge in February cut that amount to about $58 million total - $23 million in compensatory and $35 million in punitive damages.

The Nevada judgment is the largest award to date against the Madison, N.J.-based company, which faces about 5,300 similar lawsuits across the country in state and federal courts.

All the cases involve the drugs Premarin, an estrogen replacement, and Prempro, a combination of estrogen and progestin.

Both drugs remain on the market and carry the approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and both continue to be prescribed annually to hundreds of thousands of women to alleviate symptoms of menopause.

Wyeth will appeal this ruling. Read more here:

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-23592743.htm

Wyeth to appeal verdicts in Arkansas hormone therapy trial

March 06, 2008: 05:55 PM EST

SAN FRANCISCO, Mar. 6, 2008 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) -- Wyeth (NYSE:WYE PR) (NYSE:WYE) late Thursday said it plans to appeal the verdicts in the Arkansas hormone therapy case of Donna Scroggin v. Wyeth.

A jury on Feb. 25 awarded the plaintiff $2.75 million in compensatory damages against Wyeth and co-defendant Upjohn. After a second phase of the trial, the jury subsequently awarded $19.4 million in punitive damages against Wyeth and $7.76 million against Upjohn, the company said.

The plaintiff alleged that she developed breast cancer from the use of hormone-replacement therapy treatments Premarin and Prempro, which are marketed by Wyeth.

"There is no basis in fact or law for this award or for the earlier compensatory damage award. We will pursue several post-trial motions and will
ultimately appeal the entire case if necessary," said Lyn Pruitt, an attorney with Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard PLLC, a firm representing Wyeth in the case.

Shares of the Madison, N.J.-based pharmaceutical company closed the regular session down 98 cents, or 2.3%, at $41.55.

Katherine Hunt
Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

The hearing on Wyeth's appeal took place on May 10, 2008

http://www.wxvt.com/Global/story.asp?S=8305358&nav=menu1344_2

Prempro maker argues to strike $27M damage award

Associated Press - May 10, 2008 6:44 PM ET

LITTLE ROCK (AP) - Drugmakers Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Upjohn Company have asked a federal judge to void a $27 million punitive damage award to a woman who developed breast cancer after taking hormone treatments that she claimed caused her illness.

A federal jury in March awarded the sum to Donna Gail Scroggin - $19.3 million from Wyeth and $7.7 million from Provera maker Upjohn. Jurors concluded that Wyeth inadequately warned Scroggin that its drugs Premarin and Prempro carried an increased risk of breast cancer. The jury awarded Scroggin $2.75 million in compensatory damages.

At a hearing Friday, attorneys for the drug companies argued that the jury erred in issuing punitive damages. The lawyers say the companies engaged in no effort to hide information about risks of the drugs.

Scroggin took the hormones for 11 years, then was diagnosed with breast cancer. Now age 66, she had a double mastectomy and is free of cancer.

The judge is to rule later on the appeal.

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