Relief from Menopause Symptoms Short-lived for Prempro Women Suffering from Cancers

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Jul 10, 2012, 03:08 ET

CRESSKILL, N.J., July 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Prempro promised women relief from menopause symptoms, but the relief was short-lived for the estimated 10,000 plaintiffs who developed breast cancer after taking the drug. Pfizer, which purchased Prempro's original manufacturer, Wyeth, has set aside $330 million to settle 4,000 remaining suits after already settling some 6,000 suits for $896 million. The settlements come after six years of trials in which courts found Pfizer and Wyeth guilty of "wanton and reckless" behavior (http://www.drdach.com/Prempro_Dangerous.html). As it may take months, if not years, for the settlements to be disbursed, RD Legal Funding, LLC ("RD Legal") is offering the plaintiffs, and their attorneys, legal settlement funding as soon as settlement amounts have been finalized.

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Prempro became the most prescribed drug in the Unites States despite conflicting studies, some claiming the drugs' health benefits and others warning of significant health risks. Prescribed originally to reduce menopausal side effects including hot flashes, Prempro is a Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) combining an existing Wyeth product called Premarin (conjugated equine estrogen: estrogen derived from the urine of pregnant female horses), and Provera (medroxyprogesterone acetate, a powerful synthetic progesterone).

At least 6 million women used Prempro. Sales reached $2 billion a year in 2001 before a federal study reported in 2002 that Prempro increased the incidence of breast cancer by 26 percent, heart attack by 29 percent, stroke by 41 percent, and blood clots in the legs and veins by 105 percent. A number of other adverse health consequences including ovarian and gall bladder cancer, lupus, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, scleroderma, venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and asthma were also recorded.

Lawsuits by cancer-stricken women who had taken Prempro were lodged against Wyeth, claiming the company oversold the benefits of the drug while failing to warn of the risks. Wyeth was forced to turn over documents revealing that between 1997 and 2005, they spent tens of millions of dollars promoting Prempro with positive preventive health messages designed to counter negative messages emerging from the scientific community.

Celebrities including Lauren Hutton and Patti LaBelle were paid to endorse Prempro. Wyeth used ghostwriters to produce some 40 articles, including reviews of prior studies, promoting hormone replacement for treatment of menopause symptoms and other illnesses, including Parkinson's disease and dementia, for which there was no clinical evidence that the drug had any positive effects. Influential doctors were paid to use their names as authors on studies published in 18 different medical journals, none of which were informed that the drug manufacturer had funded the studies. Wyeth marketed its HRT products directly to one million HRT users through "Seasons," its own pro-HRT magazine, and brochures in doctors' lobbies, declaring "Menopause isn't gone in a flash—its debilitating consequences can affect the rest of your life."

The women who followed their doctors and celebrities' advice to take Prempro have seen their life-expectancy significantly shortened. To get settlement financing to them as quickly as possible, they or their attorneys should contact RD Legal at 1-800-565-5177 for more information about immediate settlement funding. Once the necessary documentation is received, RD Legal can wire funds within days. RD Legal provides personalized service and quick turnaround.

Founded in 1997, RD Legal has established itself as one of the nation's leading providers of lawsuit settlement funding to attorneys and plaintiffs. Contact RD Legal at 1-800-565-5177 or visit http://www.legalfunding.com for more information.

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SOURCES:

http://www.aboutlawsuits.com/hrt-increases-risk-of-breast-cancer-blood-clots-and-stroke-study-27971/

http://annals.org/article.aspx?doi=10.7326/0003-4819-157-2-201207170-00466

http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/lawsuit/prempro.html#.T-dAOvVe_l8

http://www.consumerjusticefoundation.com/20120426658/legal/pfizer-breast-cancer-lawsuit

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lowest-effective-dose-of-premprotm-03-mg15-mg-now-readily-available-in-the-united-states---trend-toward-lower-dose-hormone-therapy-continues-71730407.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-katz-md/hormone-replacement-_b_847884.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9718051

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12117397

http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/18855

http://www.lexisnexis.com/community/litigationresourcecenter/blogs/litigationblog/archive/2012/04/19/4-million-in-compensatory-damages-awarded-by-connecticut-jury-in-prempro-breast-cancer-trial.aspx