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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to issue a warming to doctors about an increased risk of the recurrence of breast cancer with patients taking both the breast cancer drug tamoxifen and select antidepressants, according to a study released last week at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting.
Nevada’s attorney general is suing drug makers Wyeth and Pfizer for alleged deceptive trade practices and misleading the public about the safety of its hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drugs, according to RGJ.com.
Postmenopausal women who experience a slump in their sex drive may rediscover their libido by taking the male sex hormone testosterone. However, researchers are unsure if there may be a link between the use of testosterone and breast cancer, according to FoodConsumer.org.
Wyeth, the pharmaceutical company that makes hormone replacement therapies Prempro and Premarin, announced today that it is ending its research in its signature areas of contraceptives and menopause treatments to focus on other female problems such as ovarian and breast cancers, according to the Associated Press/Washington Post.
Strong bones may make older, post-menopausal women at greater risk for breast cancer, according to a study conducted by University of Arizona, reported by KABC-TV in Los Angeles.
Bone scans are used to check for osteoporosis, a disease in which bones become fragile and more likely to break. Women are typically four times more likely than men to suffer from osteoporosis. Because there is a direct relationship between the lack of estrogen after menopause and the development of osteoporosis, most doctors advise older women to have bone density tests every year along with a mammogram.
Drug maker Wyeth has developed and is actively testing a new drug to treat menopause. The drug, named Aprela, has shown favorable results in the initial studies. Current evidence gathered in the study suggests that the drug may pose fewer risks and milder side effects than Prempro and Premarin, Wyeth’s other menopause drugs.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments today in the first of two cases this term that consumer advocates fear could shut courthouse doors to patients injured by FDA-approved drugs or medical devices.
Legal experts say the cases could also affect lawsuits already filed by tens of thousands of Americans challenging the safety of blockbuster drugs such as Celebrex and Prempro and a host of medical devices.
After four weeks of testimony and a full day of closing arguments, jurors will begin deliberating this morning to decide whether pharmaceutical giant Wyeth is responsible for the breast cancer suffered by three Northern Nevada women who took the company’s hormone replacement drugs.
