Summary Judgment Affirmed in Pfizer Hormone Therapy Litigation

Skadden represented Pfizer Inc and two of its subsidiaries, Wyeth, Inc. and Pharmacia & Upjohn Company, in the affirmance of a summary judgment ruling dismissing claims brought against the company in connection with its hormone therapy (HT) medicines. The plaintiffs alleged that Wyeth and Upjohn had failed to adequately warn of breast cancer risks allegedly associated with the use of their HT medications, which are prescribed to women for treatment of menopausal symptoms. On September 29, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey agreed with Skadden’s arguments that summary judgment was appropriate because the trial court had properly presumed under the New Jersey Products Liability Act that the medications’ warnings were adequate because they had been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.