Drugmaker Wyeth Gears Up for First Prempro Trial

By Elizabeth Rhein

Published on July 29, 2006

Reeves alleges that Wyeth failed to let her and her doctor know about the safety risks of Prempro. After taking the menopause medication for about eight years, she developed breast cancer. She believes that with better information from the drugmaker, she would not have chosen to stay on the medication as long as she did.

Attorneys charge that Wyeth held its profits as top priority, minimizing the importance of study results that showed adverse side effects in clinical trials of Prempro hormone replacement therapy. The numbers, they say, showed that Prempro nearly doubles the risk of breast cancer, as well as increases the risk of stroke and heart attack.

Reeves' lawyers also believe that evidence exists that Wyeth's salespeople were told to play down the health risks of Prempro and to promote the drug for so-called "off-label" uses, including prevention of Alzheimer's disease.

Wyeth representatives say that the company has been upfront at all times about the drug's health risks. They point out that labeling on the drug warns patients and doctors of the breast cancer risk, and are adamant that the company never crossed any ethical lines to sell more Prempro.

The trial is scheduled to begin on Aug. 21.

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