Experts May Testify on Cancer Risk in DES Class Suit

Six experts may testify that prenatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES), a drug once used to prevent miscarriages, increases the risk of breast cancer in women over 40, a federal court in Massachusetts held Jan. 20. The court denied motions in limine by defendants Eli Lilly & Co., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Merck & Co., and others, and directed the parties to mediation. The ruling applies to 53 plaintiffs in a putative class suit, including four sisters whose mother took DES while pregnant with them and who all developed breast cancer after age 40, Aaron Levine, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, told ...