Court overturns $3 million jury award against Wyeth's Prempro

PHILADELPHIA A judge has overturned a jury’s decision to award a woman $3 million for claiming that Wyeth’s hormone-replacement drug Prempro caused her breast cancer, according to the Associated Press. The judge said the plaintiff did not have sufficient evidence to show that the company acted negligently.

Only four of about 1,500 cases pending in Philadelphia have gone to trial. Each time, a jury sided with the plaintiff only to have the judge reverse the verdict, lawyer Tobi Millrood said. The plaintiff, Jennie Nelson plans on appealing the decision to the state Superior Court.

Nelson had claimed that she was diagnosed in 2001 after taking the drug for five years to treat symptoms of menopause. Her lawyers argued that the manufacturer Wyeth had knowledge the drug caused cancer, yet failed to issue adequate warnings.

This is in contrast to a recent decision in Nevada that saw Wyeth lose a verdict to three women who made the same claims. The women won $134 million in that case.