Deliberations to begin in hormone case

Deliberations to begin in hormone case

	Published : Fri, 26 Jan 2007 19:07 By : Agencies Print this Story

PHILADELPHIA (AFX) - Deliberations are set to begin in a case that pits pharmaceutical giant Wyeth against an Arkansas woman who claims their menopause drug was responsible for her breast cancer.

Mary Daniel's lawsuit is the third of about 4,500 against Wyeth to reach a jury. She said that after taking Prempro -- a combination of estrogen and progestin -- for about 16 months to relieve hot flashes, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

During the three-week trial, her attorneys have argued that Wyeth failed to conduct studies on the drug or warn doctors and patients about its risks. Wyeth's attorneys contend that Daniel's cancer began long before her Prempro use and that she had several risk factors that predisposed her to breast cancer.

Daniel's attorney, Zoe Littlepage, told the jury in her closing argument Thursday that Wyeth irresponsibly 'stuck their heads in the sand' and ignored years of research that she said indicated a link between Prempro and cancer.

She suggested that the hundreds of millions of dollars that Wyeth makes annually on the hormone-replacement drug provided a financial disincentive to conduct vigorous research.

'You get to tell a drug company today that they did something wrong,' she said. 'Today, Wyeth has to account to you.'

Mary Daniel and her husband, Thomas Daniel, are seeking compensatory and punitive damages. She incurred about $35,000 in medical bills during her treatment, Littlepage said.

Wyeth lawyer Peter Grossi pointed out that Prempro is still prescribed to women, and he suggested that Daniel's breast cancer was caused by other risk factors, such as the density of her breasts and a family history of cancer.

He also said the drug company properly explained risks associated with the drugs on information sheets and other materials to doctors and patients, and he urged jurors to make their decision based on the evidence rather than empathy for Daniel or enmity for big drug companies.

'If this case gets decided on sympathies and emotions, we lose,' he said.

To award punitive damages would have to mean jurors found Wyeth 'evil, malicious, oppressive,' Grossi said.

'Do you believe that?' he asked. 'I don't think there has been any evidence Wyeth acted in any other way than a responsible drug company would act.'

Daniel, 60, of Hot Springs, Ark., developed cancer after taking Prempro every other day for about 16 months before being diagnosed in 2001 with breast cancer.

She had a normal mammogram result in March 1999, and started on Prempro that December to combat hot flashes. In December 2000, her mammogram result was abnormal and in July 2001, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

After her diagnosis, she had two surgeries and underwent chemotherapy and radiation. She has been cancer-free since.

Common Pleas Judge Myrna Field will give the case to the jury Friday.

Wyeth won its first trial in Arkansas in August, and a mistrial was declared in the second trial Philadelphia in October. Others are pending in the courts.