Pa. Jury Awards $72.6 Million in HRT Breast Cancer Case

PHILADELPHIA - A Pennsylvania jury has awarded three women a total of $72.6 million in compensatory damages, finding that their ingestion of hormone replacement drugs caused them to develop breast cancer. Elfont v. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc., No. 00924 (Pa. Comm. Pls. Ct., Phila. Cty.).

The Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas jury awarded Susan Elfont $20 million, Bernadette Kalenkoski $27.85 million and Judy Mulderig $24.75 million. The Nov. 6 verdict was issued against Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Pharmacia Upjohn, both Pfizer subsidiaries. Judge Gary S. Glazer oversaw the trial.

Elfont, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997, took …