Phila. jury orders Pfizer to pay 3 women $72.6 million in damages over menopause drugs

A Philadelphia jury Tuesday said pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. must pay three women $72.6 million in compensatory damages because the menopause drugs they took gave them breast cancer.

The Common Pleas Court jury will begin the punitive phase Friday and could last two weeks, but it might mean even larger awards for the women, who live or had lived in Pennsylvania.

Jury awards in such cases can be reduced by judges or changed by appeals courts.

"The plaintiffs were pleased with the phase one outcome, and they look forward to presenting phase two evidence beginning Friday," said attorney Tobi Millrood, a partner in the Conshohocken-based firm of Pogust, Braslow & Millrood L.L.C. He was joined in the case by Matt Leckman, also of Pogust, and Ted Meadows, of the Alabama law firm of Beasley, Allen.

Pfizer inherited the drug Prempro and other hormone therapy drugs when it bought Pharmacia (including Upjohn) in 2003 and Wyeth in 2009.

"We are obviously disappointed with the verdict in this case," Pfizer spokesman Chris Loder said in a statement. "Once the verdict is finalized, the company will weigh its legal options to determine how it will continue with the case.

"Hormone therapy medicines are an important treatment option for many women with debilitating symptoms of menopause. The FDA has regularly and thoroughly reviewed the benefits and risks of these medicines, and states that 'hormone therapy is the most effective FDA-approved medicine for relief of hot flashes, night sweats or vaginal dryness.' "

Those menopausal symptoms prompted more than six million women to take Prempro and related menopause drugs before a 2002 study highlighted their links to cancer, Bloomberg News reported. Bloomberg said Wyeth had sales of more than $2 billion before the release of the Women's Health Initiative, a National Institutes of Health-sponsored study.

Through the years, Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia has become a common venue for civil litigation involving multiple plaintiffs and drug companies from across the nation.

Susan Elfont, who used to live in Northeast Philadelphia but now lives in California, where she can be closer to her grandchildren, was awarded $20 million. Bernadette Kalenkoski was awarded $27.85 million and Judy Mulderig was awarded $24.75 million. Kalenkoski and Mulderig reside in Pennsylvania.