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Prempro News

We have compiled the latest news on Prempro. Some of the news articles on this page require Adobe Acrobat to view.

If you or a loved one has been injured by Prempro and you would like more information on litigation against the manufacturer, please contact us.

Federal Judge Moves Lawsuit Against Drug Makers to State Court
hormone replacement therapy lawsuit
Reno Gazette-Journal | March 17, 2009

A lawsuit filed by the Nevada attorney general claiming pharmaceutical giants Wyeth, Pfizer and Upjohn misled the public about the safety of their hormone therapy drugs must be heard in state court, not federal court, a federal judge has ruled.

The order is considered a win for the state, which filed suit in November, claiming the firms violated the Nevada Deceptive Trade Practices Act in the promotion and sale of drugs used to offset the effects of menopause.

Study Makes Stronger Case HRT Causes Breast Cancer
 
Reuters | February 4, 2009
Researchers looking into the long-term health effects of hormone replacement therapy said on Wednesday they had made the strongest case yet that the pills raise the risk of breast cancer.
Elsevier Looks Into Charge of Ghostwriting by Wyeth
 
Wall Street Journal | December 22, 2008

Sen. Charles Grassley’s investigation of whether Wyeth hired ghostwriters to pen articles for medical journals has prompted a major medical publisher, Elsevier, to look into the matter itself.

Elsevier publishes the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, in which an “Editor’s Choice” article in May 2003 discussed the Women’s Health Initiative, a major study that was halted when researchers saw a higher risk for breast cancer among women taking Wyeth’s hormone-replacement therapy Prempro.

Elsevier to Review Senator's Claim
 
The New York Times | December 19, 2008

Elsevier, a medical publisher, said Friday that it would investigate a senator’s recent allegation that one of its journals published an article on hormone replacement therapy that was improperly ghostwritten by a drug company promoting the product.

Wyeth's Use of Medical Ghostwriters Questioned
 
The New York Times | December 12, 2008

Wyeth, the pharmaceutical company, paid ghostwriters to produce medical journal articles favorable to its hormone replacement therapy Prempro, according to Congressional letters seeking more information about the company’s involvement in medical ghostwriting. At least one article was published even after a federal study found the drug raised the risk of breast cancer.

The letters, sent electronically Friday by Senator Charles E. Grassley, ask Wyeth and DesignWrite, a medical writing company, to disclose payments related to the preparation of journal articles and the activities of doctors who were recruited to put their names on them for publication.

Nevada AG Files Suit Against Hormone Therapy Drug Manufacturers

 

Las Vegas Sun | November 18, 2008

Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto filed suit today against Wyeth and Pfizer, two leading manufacturers of hormone therapy drugs commonly prescribed to women after menopause.

The suit alleges that Wyeth's sale of Premarin, Prempro and Premphase, and Pfizer's sale of Provera, involved deceptive trade practices which misled Nevada consumers and physicians about the safety and efficacy of these drugs.

The suit contends that Wyeth and Pfizer intentionally minimized the risks and exaggerated the benefits of taking their hormone therapy drugs, resulting in over-prescribing and a dramatic increase in hormone-positive breast cancers in women after menopause.

Jury Awards $134.5 Million in Wyeth Hormone Drug Case
 
The New York Times | October 12, 2007

A jury has levied a $134.5 million judgment against the pharmaceutical maker Wyeth in a lawsuit filed by three Nevada women who contended that the company's hormone-replacement drugs had caused their breast cancer.

It was the largest award to date against Wyeth, of Madison, N.J., which faces more than 5,000 similar lawsuits against the country in state and federal courts.

Wyeth Loses Prempro Trial, Ordered to Pay $1.5 Million in Damages
 
CNBC | January 29, 2007

A state jury in Philadelphia on Monday found Wyeth's hormone replacement therapy (HRT) Prempro was responsible for a woman's breast cancer and ordered the U.S. drugmaker to pay $1.5 million in compensatory damages, a court official said.

The jury found that Wyeth was negligent in failing to provide adequate warnings about the breast cancer risk associated with Prempro.

Mistrial Declared in Prempro Case
Philadelphia Daily News | October 12, 2006

A case in which a married couple won a $1.5 million jury award after blaming Prempro, a hormone-replacement drug, for the woman's breast cancer ended yesterday with a a mistrial.

The lawyer for Jennie Nelson, of Dayton, Ohio, and a spokesman for drug maker Wyeth, the defendant, both said the grounds for the mistrial were sealed by the judge who declared it.

Nevada Cancer Patient Reaches Settlement with Wyeth in Prempro Case
 
Law.com | October 6, 2006

The same day a Philadelphia jury ruled that a hormone replacement drug at least partially caused a woman's breast cancer, a Reno woman who is dying of the disease reached an out-of-court settlement with the New Jersey-based drug maker.

Just two days before her trial was to begin, Carol McCreary and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals told Washoe District Judge Robert Perry on Wednesday they have resolved the case. Both sides agreed that the terms of the settlement will remain confidential.

Jury Says Prempro Caused Breast Cancer
 
Los Angeles Times | October 5, 2006

A Philadephia jury found Wednesday that Wyeth's Prempro hormone-therapy drug was a significant cause of breast cancer in a 66-year-old woman and awarded $1.5 million in compensatory damages.

The verdict in state court, reached on the sixth day of jury deliberations, was Wyeth's first loss in litigation involving about 5,000 lawsuits claiming that Prempro and a related drug caused breast cancer and other diseases. Many of the suits were prompted by government studies showing a link between the drugs and increased risk for the diseases.

FDA to Reassess Hormone Replacement Risks
CNN | August 14, 2002

The Food and Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research has announced it will reassess the risks and benefits of Prempro, a hormone replacement therapy drug.

In a statement Tuesday, the FDA said that the Department of Health and Human Services will host public sessions on the issue in the fall. It said
that other combination estrogen/progestin products will be considered and that the findings may affect future clinical trials of hormone replacement therapy.

Hormone Replacement Therapy Study Halted
 
CNN | August 14, 2002

In a move that may affect millions of women, U.S. government scientists Tuesday stopped a major study of hormone replacement therapy on the risks and benefits of combined estrogen and progestin in healthy menopausal women, citing an increased risk of invasive breast cancer.

Researchers from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health also found increases in coronary heart disease, stroke and pulmonary embolism.

NHLBI Stops Trial of Estrogen Plus Progestin Due to Increased Breast Cancer Risk, Lack of Overall Benefit
 
National Institutes of Health | July 9, 2002

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has stopped early a major clinical trial of the risks and benefits of combined estrogen and progestin in healthy menopausal women due to an increased risk of invasive breast cancer.

The large multi-center trial, a component of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), also found increases in coronary heart disease, stroke, and pulmonary embolism in study participants on estrogen plus progestin compared to women taking placebo pills. There were noteworthy benefits of estrogen plus progestin, including fewer cases of hip fractures and colon cancer, but on balance the harm was greater than the benefit.

The study, which was scheduled to run until 2005, was stopped after an average follow-up of 5.2 years.

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If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer following use of Prempro, Premarin or Provera, you may be entitled to compensation.

You should act immediately to contact a lawyer experienced in matters involving defective pharmaceuticals.