Pfizer ‘will appeal Provera verdict’

Pfizer has announced that its Pharmacia and Upjohn subsidiary will appeal a Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas jury decision that linked the company’s Provera (medroxyprogesterone acetate) with the contraction of breast cancer in plaintiff Merle Simon.

Provera is a progestin product used to prevent the abnormal growth of cells in the uterus that can contribute to uterine cancer. This can be a risk in women solely using oestrogen to treat the symptoms of menopause.

The compound was acquired by Pfizer when it purchased Pharmacia – the parent company of Pharmacia and Upjohn – in 2003.

Sandra Phillips, senior vice-president and associate general counsel, said: “While we have great sympathy for what Mrs Simon has been through, today’s verdict is neither supported by the evidence introduced during the trial nor by medical science.”

Ms Phillips added that its subsidiary, Pharmacia and Upjohn, had acted responsibly concerning Provera and that the company would follow all legal avenues available in its attempts to reverse the decision of the court.

The company also stated that hormone replacement therapies such as Provera continue to provide a key regulator-approved treatment option for patients suffering ill effects following the menopause.

Pfizer warns of the risk of minor birth defects in children whose mothers take Provera in the first trimester of pregnancy and advises on its product labelling that expectant mothers in this stage of pregnancy do not take this compound.