On October 15, 2007, a Nevada jury awarded three women $99 million in punitive damages after they claimed Wyeth’s hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) drugs caused their breast cancer. The verdict comes less than one week after the same jury awarded $134.5 million in compensatory damages, which were later reduced to $35 million.

Sixty-seven-year-old Arlene Rowatt was awarded $31 million in punitive damages, in addition to the $12 million she was awarded in compensatory damages.

“We prevailed, that was the important thing,” Rowatt said. “We got our message out that there are a lot of women out there who are being injured by this type of behavior.”

The $99 million verdict was reached while the jury considered whether the company’s actions were so “reprehensible” that additional damages were warranted to punish Wyeth and to discourage behavior in the future. The judgment is the largest to date against Wyeth, which still faces about 5,300 similar HRT lawsuits across the country. All of the lawsuits involve Wyeth’s Premarin or Prempro, hormone-replacement drugs given to women to ease symptoms of menopause.

In addition to Rowatt’s awards, 74-year-old Jeraldine Scofield was awarded $43.5 million in total damages, and 65-year-old Pamela Forrester was awarded $47.5 million in total damages. A fourth plaintiff in the case, Carol McCreary, died from breast cancer earlier in the year. She was 59 and was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001 after taking Prempro for 33 months.

In the prior week’s decision, jurors awarded compensatory damages after finding Wyeth was negligent, that its drugs were defective, and that the company concealed a significant fact about the products’ safety. The jury also found Wyeth acted with malice or fraud.

Wyeth plans to appeal the verdict.

Sources: “Jury awards $99 million in Wyeth case,” Wall Street Journal, October 16, 2007; Sarah Rubenstein, “Wyeth hit with $134.5 million verdict,” Wall Street Journal, October 12, 2007; Catharine Paddock, “Wyeth ordered to pay $134.5 million in hormone therapy lawsuit,” Medical News Today, October 12, 2007.