Ore. hormone therapy, cancer case goes to trial

by Cornelius Swart, KGW.com Staff

kgw.com

Posted on October 22, 2013 at 5:07 PM

Updated today at 5:59 AM

PORTLAND-- The US Supreme Court ruled Monday that a case between a West Linn woman and Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk A/S will have to go trial.

Suzanne Lukas-Werner claimed she got breast cancer in 2009 after using the Novo Nordisk hormone replacement therapy drug known as Activella for six years. She said she underwent a mastectomy of her right breast and three lymph nodes were removed. She went through several treatments of radiation and chemotherapy.

Lukas-Werner filed a claim against Novo Nordisk and her Lake Oswego doctor in September 2010.

She made a public statement to the press on Tuesday.

"We've been kind of under attack with Novo Nordisk, said Lukas-Werner. We're the David versus the Goliath and Im surprised we've gotten this far. I was very surprised by the supreme court verdict. I'm very grateful."

According to Law360, Novo Nordisk had tried to assert that an Oregon court had no jurisdiction over the drugmaker. Tuesday's ruling means the company will have to open its records to Lukas-Werner's attorneys and that the case is clear to go before a Multnomah County court.

Read this article:
Ore. hormone therapy, cancer case goes to trial