Wyeth loses product liability suit
Executive Summary
Nevada jury finds that Wyeth's hormone replacement drugs Prempro and Premarin caused breast cancer in three women and awarded them a total of $134.5 million in compensatory damages. In its Oct. 10 verdict, the jury reportedly said Wyeth concealed a material fact about the safety of the drugs and acted with fraud and malice. The jury was to decide Oct. 12 if Wyeth should also pay punitive damages. The company has won six previous cases - three suits were dismissed, a judge overturned a jury verdict for plaintiffs in one case, and two resulted in verdicts for Wyeth (1"The Pink Sheet" July 9, 2007, p. 23). Approximately 5,200 suits have been filed in federal and state courts on behalf of about 8,400 women...