Cancer Patients Must Prove Alopecia Diagnoses in Taxotere Suits

Cancer patients alleging the chemotherapy drug Taxotere caused permanent hair loss will remain bound by a court order requiring them to provide an expert declaration with medical evidence they suffer from alopecia, according to a federal judge overseeing the litigation.

Case procedures so far “have revealed evidence that many plaintiffs may be unable to sustain their burden of proof,” Judge Jane Triche Milazzo of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana said Tuesday.

Thousands of cancer patients sued pharmaceutical companies including Hospira Worldwide LLC, Pfizer Inc., and Sanofi-Aventis US LLC. The patients said Taxotere or ...