A panel of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that “There was sufficient evidence of gross negligence and willful and wanton misconduct to support imposition of punitive damages,” against Pfizer and units Wyeth and Pharmacia & Upjohn. As a result, Pfizer must pay more than $45 million in damages to Connie Barton and Donna Kendall.  The court noted that while the amount of punitive damages was large, it “correlated with the enormity of the defendants’ wrongs,

In a closely watched trial in Philadelphia, a jury has awarded three women $ 72.6 million for developing breast cancer after using menopausal drugs made by Pfizer’s units Wyeth and Pharmacia Upjohn this according to Bloomberg. Plaintiff Judy Mulderig used Premarin and Provera for more than 11 years and was awarded $24.75. Plaintiff Bernadette Kalenkoski used Prempro for 4 years and was awarded $27.85 million while Susan Elfont was awarded $20 million. It is estimated

William Maisel, deputy director of the FDA Center for Devices, stated “The clinical effectiveness of surgical mesh for transvaginal repair of pelvic organ prolapse has not been demonstrated,” this according to Bloomberg. In response Johnson & Johnson, and other manufactures of vaginal mesh products have agreed to more safety studies as well as further labeling changes to properly inform potential recipients of the true risks and the alleged benefits of vaginal mesh products. Besides Johnson

H.R. 5 would impose a limit of $250,000.00 on non-economic damages passed through the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee on May 10, 2011, in a 30-20 vote.  The vote was mostly along party lines.  A full House vote has not been scheduled and the bill will likely face opposition in the United States Senate. The American Bar Association opposed the bill while the American Medical Association and the American Hospital Association supported the bill.