Wyeth Must Face Womans Prempro Lawsuit, Appeals Court Rules
The state appeals court in Houston said on April 14 that Susan Brockerts “failure-to-warn” claims arent preempted by federal drug-labeling regulations, overturning a district judges finding from February 2007. The case was sent back to the lower court for further proceedings.
The appeals panel cited last months U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding a $7 million award to a musician who lost her arm after being injected with Wyeths Phenergan nausea treatment. The high court said patients can sue drugmakers for failing to provide adequate safety warnings, even when a treatment and its packaging are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“Susan Brockert is thrilled with this decision,” her attorney, Erik Walker, said in an interview. Related lawsuits over Prempro that had been on hold pending the decision will now move forward, he said.
Wyeth, based in Madison, New Jersey, is the target of about 5,000 lawsuits over its menopause drugs Prempro and Premarin. As many as 6 million women took the hormone-replacement therapies to ease menopause symptoms, such as hot flashes and mood swings, before a 2002 study turned up cancer links.
Wyeths main argument for throwing out the case was a preamble added to FDA labeling rules in January 2006, which it said bars patients from suing drugmakers over failure-to-warn claims in state court.
Defect Claim
“Following the U.S. Supreme Courts decision in Wyeth v. Levine and based on the record that was before the trial court, Wyeth decided to withdraw that argument,” company spokesman Doug Petkus said yesterday. “The Brockert courts decision on that topic was therefore not unexpected.”
The company was pleased that the court affirmed the dismissal of Brockerts separate design-defect claim, he said.
Wyeth agreed on Jan. 26 to sell itself to New York-based Pfizer in a deal valued at about $64 billion.
Wyeth fell 56 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $42.64 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading yesterday. The stock has climbed 14 percent this year.
The lower court case is Brockert v. Wyeth, 200349357, Harris County District Court, Houston.