http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aID=106404.34605.118545

Arkansas Judge Tosses $27 Million Award in Hormone Drug Lawsuit
By The Associated Press
7/9/2008 7:11:01 AM

LITTLE ROCK (AP) _ A federal judge has thrown out a jury award of more than $27 million for a Little Rock woman who developed breast cancer after taking hormone replacement therapy.

In February, a federal jury in Little Rock sided with Donna Scroggin in her lawsuit against drug makers Wyeth and Upjohn, awarding her $2.75 million in compensatory damages and $27 million in punitive damages. Jurors concluded that Wyeth inadequately warned Scroggin that its drugs Premarin and Prempro carried an increased risk of breast cancer. The suit also involved Upjohn's Provera, an estrogen-only drug.

In a 52-page order Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Bill Wilson threw out the punitive damages award, saying that he shouldn't have allowed certain testimony from a former Food and Drug Administration official who was the plaintiff's regulatory expert.

Wilson has already upheld the jury's compensatory damages award.

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