SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A federal jury has awarded $5.1 million to a Utah woman who says she developed breast cancer from hormone therapy drugs.
Wyeth and Pharmacia & Upjohn — companies that are now part of Pfizer Inc. — say they will appeal the judgment.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/P22uGy ) that the jury decided the case Friday after a month of trial in Salt Lake City.
The 73-year-old woman, Toshiko Okuda, says she developed breast cancer a decade ago after taking hormone drugs for 17 years. She says she took the drugs to ease menopause symptoms years that started with a hysterectomy at age 47.
She is among thousands of women who have filed similar lawsuits. The drug companies say a federal study found that 99.6 percent of women who take hormone replacement therapy are cancer free.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com
