Sanofi Experts Can Rely on Hair Loss Data in Taxotere Trial

Taxotere maker Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC may present evidence at an upcoming bellwether trial based on a study that concluded the rate of ongoing hair loss in patients using the cancer drug was less than originally reported.

The expert testimony is still reliable even though the underlying data re-analysis was litigation-driven, the Eastern District of Louisiana said.

Barbara Earnest’s suit, slated to begin Sept. 16, will be the first trial of some 11,000 federal Taxotere suits in the federal multidistrict proceeding in Louisiana.

Plaintiffs allege Sanofi failed to warn that the breast cancer drug caused permanent hair loss.

The 1997 Sanofi ...