Supreme Court refuses drug maker’s request to block punitive damages trial

High court rejects drug maker’s appeal

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court is allowing a new trial in the case of a woman who got breast cancer after taking hormone replacement therapy and is seeking punitive damages against Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.

The justices on Monday rejected Wyeth’s attempt to block the trial because it is to be limited to punitive damages. Wyeth also wanted the high court to throw out $2.75 million compensatory damages that the woman, Donna Scroggin of Little Rock, Ark., won after suing Wyeth and Upjohn Co., another drugmaker. Both now are subsidiaries of Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest drug company.

New York-based Pfizer said in a statement the company is disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision but “is fully prepared to present its defenses.”

An Arkansas jury also awarded Scroggin $27 million in punitive damages after concluding that Wyeth inadequately warned her that its Premarin and Prempro — former best-selling drugs that reduce hot flashes and other menopause symptoms — carried an increased risk of breast cancer.

A federal judge struck down the punitive damages award, saying certain testimony from former Food and Drug Administration official Dr. Suzanne Parisian, who was the plaintiff’s regulatory expert, shouldn’t have been allowed at trial.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis ordered the partial retrial, limited to punitive damages.

Chief Justice John Roberts, who owns Pfizer stock, did not take part in the consideration of the case.

Pfizer noted Monday that Scroggin must prove at the retrial “that punitive damages, which have already been denied against Upjohn, are warranted against Wyeth.”

Pfizer said both Wyeth and Upjohn “acted responsibly by conducting or supporting more than 180 studies on hormone therapy’s benefits and risks, keeping the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fully informed, and providing proper, accurate and science-based information to patients and doctors.”

Premarin and Prempro earned billions of dollars in sales until a huge federal study, the Women’s Health Initiative, in 2002 linked Prempro to higher rates of heart attacks, strokes, breast cancer and other problems. Subsequent research found the risks were generally limited to women taking hormones in their 60s and 70s.

By then doctors were advising women to only take the pills for as long as they were essential. Previously, millions of women took them for years, believing the pills staved off the effects of aging by protecting the heart and strengthening bones.

Premarin has been on the market since 1942, and Prempro since 1994.

Pfizer said it has prevailed in 26 of the hormone therapy cases set for trial through rulings by judges, jury verdicts or dismissals by plaintiffs. Pfizer said five verdicts for plaintiffs are still in effect. All but the Scroggin verdict are still being challenged by the company.

The case is Wyeth v. Scroggin, 09-1123.

AP Business Writer Linda A. Johnson in Trenton, N.J., contributed to this report.