By Mary Manning

Tue, Nov 18, 2008 (4:42 p.m.)

Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto filed suit today against Wyeth and Pfizer, two leading manufacturers of hormone therapy drugs commonly prescribed to women after menopause.

The suit alleges that Wyeth's sale of Premarin, Prempro and Premphase, and Pfizer's sale of Provera, involved deceptive trade practices which misled Nevada consumers and physicians about the safety and efficacy of these drugs.

The suit contends that Wyeth and Pfizer intentionally minimized the risks and exaggerated the benefits of taking their hormone therapy drugs, resulting in over-prescribing and a dramatic increase in hormone-positive breast cancers in women after menopause.

"When drug companies purposefully misrepresent the safety and efficacy of their drugs, or promote their drugs in a deceptive way, everybody loses," Masto said. "We're confident we have the facts necessary to prove this case, and we hope this lawsuit and its outcome will deter improper drug company practices in Nevada."

The lawsuit was filed by the Nevada Attorney General's office with White & Wetherall, LLP, a Nevada law firm, and Littlepage Booth, a Texas law firm. These private firms have been litigating similar cases on behalf of individual Nevada women for more than four years, resulting in numerous settlements and a 2007 verdict in Reno on behalf of three women with breast cancer. The verdict is presently on appeal by Wyeth.