A Philadelphia jury ordered pharmaceutical company Pfizer to pay out a $72.6 million settlement in a Prempro lawsuit. Susan Elfont, Bernadette Kalenkoski and Judy Mulderig filed the breast cancer lawsuit when they developing cancer after taking the hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drug.
Prempro is a combination of the drugs Provera and Premarin, designed to artificially boost hormone levels in women undergoing menopause. These drugs are known as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and are intended to reduce menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, mood swings and sleep disturbance. Prempro and other HRT drugs have been used by 6 million women.
HRT Drug Cancer Link
A multitude of lawsuits were filed after a 2002 National Institutes of Health (NIH) study found that Prempro users had a much higher incidence of breast cancer. The study revealed that women who had taken Prempro were more likely to:
- Develop breast cancer
- Have breast cancer spread to their lymph nodes
- Eventually succumb to the disease
Pfizer Settlement
The verdict was reached in early December 2011 in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.
The jury awarded Elfont $20 million, Kalenkoski $27.85 million, and Mulderig $24.75 million in damages. However, the jury still has to decide whether Pfizer should pay punitive damages for endangering the lives of women without sufficient warning for their own financial gain.
Additionally, Pfizer could face punitive damages of a much greater value, depending on the further deliberations of the jury.
Pfizer announced in May 2011 that they were prepared to set aside $772 million to settle all claims filed by women who claim that the HRT drug caused them to develop breast cancer. Following the recent verdict in Philadelphia, the drug company announced that an additional $68 million would be allotted to resolve the claims.
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If you or a loved one suffered injury due to a dangerous drug like Prempro, you have a right to be compensated. Contact our experienced personal injury attorneys for a free evaluation of your case. We believe in finding justice for those injured by this dangerous drug.
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