5th Cir. Upholds Summary Judgment to Sanofi in Taxotere Hair Loss Case

NEW ORLEANS — A federal appeals panel has upheld an award of summary judgment to Sanofi-Aventis in a Taxotere permanent hair loss case, finding the plaintiff failed to create a question of fact as to whether a warning that the breast cancer drug may cause permanent alopecia would have changed her doctor’s prescribing decision.

In an April 19 opinion, the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found it is beyond any genuine dispute that a different warning would not have swayed the prescribing doctor, given the plaintiff’s age and the aggressiveness of her breast cancer.

June Phillips developed an …