Wyeth's Prempro again on trial in Ark.

Wyeth's Prempro again on trial in Ark.

	Published : Tue, 23 Jan 2007 21:32 By : Agencies Print this Story

LITTLE ROCK (AFX) - Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc. was intentionally 'making up facts and causing confusion' about the risk of breast cancer associated with its hormone replacement drugs, a lawyer for a Little Rock woman suing the drug maker said in opening statements Tuesday.

But attorneys for the subsidiary of Wyeth argued that the company has always been upfront about risks associated with the drug, and that the plaintiff likely would have developed breast cancer even if she never took Premarin or Prempro, both prescribed to treat menopausal symptoms.

Helene Rush's case against Wyeth is the second suit in Arkansas federal court and the third nationwide that accuses the drug maker of negligence regarding its hormone replacement therapy. More than 5,000 similar suits have been filed across the country.

In the nation's first trial, a jury last year rejected claims made against Wyeth by another Arkansas woman, Linda Reeves of Benton. In Pennsylvania, a married couple won a $1.5 million jury award in a similar case, but a judge in October declared a mistrial.

Madison, N.J.-based Wyeth makes Prempro, which is a combination of estrogen and progestin, and Premarin, which is estrogen only.

Rush, 71, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999. Her attorneys say she took Wyeth's estrogen-progestin hormone therapy for nearly a decade.

'Wyeth made up benefits, none of which were proven, to get doctors to prescribe the drug more,' attorney Les Weisbrod told jurors, adding that Rush was told the hormone therapy would improve her cardiovascular health.

Many women stopped taking the drugs after a federal Women's Health Initiative study in July 2002 in which researchers said more breast cancer and heart problems occurred among women taking estrogen-progestin pills.

'Wyeth's way of business is to sell first and test later for safety,' Weisbrod told jurors.

But Wyeth's attorneys said it was 'simply not correct' to claim that Wyeth didn't sufficiently test its hormone therapy drugs.

'The FDA has considered this product over and over and over again,' repeatedly approving it, said Wyeth attorney Stephen Urbanczyk.

'If there's a risk (for breast cancer), there's a very small risk,' he said.

Attorney Lyn Pruitt said that Rush likely would have developed breast cancer regardless of whether she took Prempro, because of genetic and health factors, such as weight gain and a history of smoking.

Urbanczyk pointed out that Prempro's risk for breast cancer was included on printed materials included with the drug, as well as information provided to doctors prescribing the drug.

'Wyeth is a good company that acted responsibly, and Premarin and Prempro are good options for women,' Urbanczyk said.

Wyeth's attorneys also showed a videotaped deposition of Rush, in which she admitted that she didn't read the printed materials included with her prescriptions.

The trial, before U.S. District Judge Bill Wilson, is expected to last two to three weeks.