First Sanofi Cancer Drug Trial Plagued by Errors, Plaintiff Says

Expert evidence error merits a new trial in the first test case against Taxotere maker Sanofi-Aventis US LLC, a woman who alleges the breast cancer drug caused her permanent hair loss told a Louisiana federal trial court.

A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana found for Sanofi in September, rejecting Barbara Earnest’s claims that Taxotere was responsible for her hair loss.

But the court allowed inadmissible expert evidence for Sanofi, she said in an Oct. 25 filing.

Earnest’s expert, dermatologist Antonella Tosti, examined her and ruled out all possible causes except chemotherapy-induced loss, ...