Wyeth Faces First Prempro Suit

After finally settling - for $21 billion thus far - the bulk of the lawsuits brought against it for the diet drug fen-phen, Wyeth now faces approximately 4500 suits filed against the company over its hormone-replacement therapy (HRT), Prempro.  Prempro is an estrogen-progestin combination designed to relieve menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes.  The first of these cases goes to trial in federal court in Little Rock, Arkansas on August 21st.  The plaintiff is 67-year-old Linda Reeves who claims that her breast cancer was caused by her taking Prempro for approximately eight years.  The Women's Health Initiative study, halted in 2002, showed a slight increase in cancer, heart attack and stroke risks for HRT patients but proving causation in individual cases may prove to be difficult.  See Theresa Agovino's story for the Associated Press.

JDP