October 12, 2007

Well, now, justice strikes again, this time in the form of a jury verdict for a mere $134.5 million (for three plaintiffs) against Wyeth. Why? Its hormone-therapy drugs purportedly caused breast cancer in the three.

Now, the labels say clearly that the data show a slight increase in breast cancer incidence in women using these drugs. Does that mean that these particular cancers were caused by these particular drugs? Well, no. Cancers are caused by a broad range of factors understood poorly; that one particular theoretical source can be identified says little about whether these tumors would have occurred even in the absence of the drugs.

No matter. It's Big Pharma versus little women, and why not make the former the scapegoat for the misfortune of the latter? That's easy: We'll get a lot fewer drugs over time---and a lot more human suffering---if no good pharmaceutical innovation deed goes unpunished. Such are the adverse effects of the litigation lottery, the machinery of which truly is a wonder. So much for the children, today, tomorrow, and forever.

Posted by Benjamin Zycher at October 12, 2007 11:21 AM

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