Two juries award more than $103 million to punish Pfizer unit, Wyeth
Connie Barton and Donna Kendall have something in common: they both stood up to one of the largest and most powerful drug companies in court — and won. Monday, November 23, 2009, in Philadelphia, PA, these two verdicts against Wyeth (a division of Pfizer) over its hormone therapy drugs (Premarin® and Prempro®) were released. Breast cancer survivors are winning the war against hormone replacement therapy (HRT) makers Wyeth and Pfizer.
Janet, Jenner & Suggs attorney Robert K. Jenner is co-counsel in the cases involving Connie Barton, Peoria, IL, Mary Daniels, Hot Springs, AK, and Diane Wisneski, of Potomac, MD.
In each case, the jury awarded these women significant compensatory and punitive damages ranging from more than $34 million to $78 million. And this is just the tip of the iceberg as Wyeth faces lawsuits from more than 10,000 additional women who also claim that Wyeth’s drugs gave them breast cancer. A third punitive verdict that was awarded in 2007 in the Daniel v. Wyeth case was scheduled to be released today as well. However, Wyeth was granted emergency relief this morning to keep the third verdict sealed.
The evidence at these trials showed Wyeth’s unrelenting campaign to make billions of dollars in profit from these drugs while keeping the truth about the drugs’ dangers secret. Jurors were shocked to learn that:
- Wyeth was on notice of the need to study whether combination hormone therapy causes breast cancer as early as 1975, but failed to conduct a single breast cancer study over the course of the next three decades — despite over a dozen red flags that breast cancer was a safety problem;
- Instead of studying the breast cancer risk, Wyeth took active steps to downplay, dismiss and contain the release of data from other institution’s studies that showed such risk;
- Even worse, Wyeth ghost-wrote dozens of medical articles that minimized the breast cancer risk and exaggerated the benefits of hormone therapy and then published these articles in reputable medical journals under independent doctor’s names;
- It was not until a government study was stopped early because of breast cancer that the world learned the truth;
- Studies now confirm that 200,000 women — grandmothers, mothers, sisters and wives — would not have suffered breast cancer but for their use of combination hormone therapy drugs.
Today’s verdicts clearly show that when jurors hear how Wyeth put huge profits over the safety of patients, they will react with a strong message of outrage. Just last month, a legal ruling from the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed that Wyeth did wrong and that juries should be permitted to hear this evidence and determine whether the company should be punished. Robert Peck, President of the Constitutional Law Center explains that this ruling shows that “Wyeth’s behavior outraged these judges.”
As Michael Richmond, a jury foreperson in a Prempro® trial, explains: “Wyeth had no concern whatsoever for the health of the patients. They were only concerned about their profits.” These verdicts — with significant punitive awards – confirm the anger of a community when the truth is learned.
Of the twelve verdicts to date, Plaintiffs have been awarded money by 10 of the 12 juries. Every jury that has been permitted to deliberate on punitive damages has returned substantial punitive damage awards. For a summary of all hormone therapy verdicts to date, see the attached chart. In addition, thirteen women have settled their hormone therapy claims with Wyeth or Pfizer.
The verdicts released today are:
Donna Kendall v. Wyeth (Phila. CCP, June Term, 2004, No. 0965):
Jury Verdict: Compensatory Damages: $6,300,000
Punitive Damages: $28,000,000
For more information about the Kendall case, please contact trial counsel Tobi Millrood at tmillrood@pbmattorneys.com or (610) 941-4204.
Connie Barton v. Wyeth (Phila. CCP, April Term 2004, No. 06301):
Jury Verdict: Compensatory Damages: $3,746,344
Punitive Damages: $75,000,000
For more information about the Barton case, please contact trial counsel Zoe Littlepage at zoe@littlepagebooth.com or (713) 529-8000.
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