Hormone Therapy Remains an Important Option for Women Seeking Relief of
Menopausal Symptoms
COLLEGEVILLE, Pa., March 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Observational
follow-up data from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study published
today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) provide
little new insight into the appropriate use of hormone therapy when it is
prescribed to symptomatic, newly menopausal women. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a
division of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE), believes that hormone therapy, when used
appropriately, remains a good health care choice to relieve moderate to
severe menopausal symptoms for millions of women seeking treatment.
"Health care professionals and women should be cautious about drawing
generalized conclusions with regard to the benefits and risks of hormone
therapy based upon an observational follow-up of the WHI. The WHI was
conducted in older women and was designed to assess the risks and benefits
of hormone therapy for the prevention of heart disease," says Gary L.
Stiles, M.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Wyeth
Pharmaceuticals.
The women who participated in the WHI study were predominantly
non-symptomatic and were on average 63 years of age, which is more than a
decade past the average onset of menopause. In recent years, reanalysis of
WHI findings has repeatedly shown that the risks associated with hormone
therapy use in this older study population were not consistently shared
across all outcomes by the younger subset of women who are more
representative of a newly menopausal, hormone therapy user.
"Selectively releasing information contained in the WHI database,
without providing the full context of the data assessed, is not in the best
interest of menopausal women and their health care professionals and may
needlessly cause confusion," says Stiles.
Clinical guidance as outlined in product labeling and patient
information for hormone therapy recommends use at the lowest effective dose
for the shortest duration of time.
Wyeth continues to support the appropriate use of hormone therapy and
encourages women experiencing menopausal symptoms to speak with a health
care professional to determine whether it might be the right treatment
option for them.
Hormone therapy is not right for all women, and it does not prevent
heart disease or dementia. Hormone therapy may increase a woman's chance of
heart attack, stroke, breast cancer or blood clots and should be taken at
the lowest effective dose for the shortest time based on her goals and
risks. If a woman has a uterus, estrogens increase the risk of uterine
cancer. Adding a progestin greatly reduces this risk. Women should
re-evaluate the use of estrogens and progestins with their health care
professional. If a woman is not having symptoms, non-estrogen treatments
should be considered before starting therapy to prevent bone loss.
About Wyeth
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, has leading products in the
areas of women's health care, infectious disease, gastrointestinal health,
central nervous system, inflammation, transplantation, hemophilia,
oncology, vaccines and nutritional products.
Wyeth is one of the world's largest research-driven pharmaceutical and
health care products companies. It is a leader in the discovery,
development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines,
biotechnology products and non-prescription medicines that improve the
quality of life for people worldwide. The Company's major divisions include
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare and Fort Dodge Animal
Health.
The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements based on current expectations of future events
and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results
to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements.
These risks and uncertainties include the inherent uncertainty of the
timing and success of, and expense associated with, research, development,
regulatory approval and commercialization of our products, including with
respect to our pipeline products; government cost-containment initiatives;
restrictions on third-party payments for our products; substantial
competition in our industry, including from branded and generic products;
data generated on our products; the importance of strong performance from
our principal products and our anticipated new product introductions; the
highly regulated nature of our business; product liability, intellectual
property and other litigation risks and environmental liabilities;
uncertainty regarding our intellectual property rights and those of others;
difficulties associated with, and regulatory compliance with respect to,
manufacturing of our products; risks associated with our strategic
relationships; economic conditions including interest and currency exchange
rate fluctuations; changes in generally accepted accounting principles;
trade buying patterns; the impact of legislation and regulatory compliance;
risks and uncertainties associated with global operations and sales; and
other risks and uncertainties, including those detailed from time to time
in our periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including our current reports on Form 8-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q
and annual report on Form 10-K, particularly the discussion under the
caption "Item 1A, RISK FACTORS." The forward-looking statements in this
press release are qualified by these risk factors. We assume no obligation
to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of
new information, future developments or otherwise.
SOURCE Wyeth Pharmaceuticals
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Related links:
http://www.wyeth.com
CONTACT:
Media, Danielle Halstrom, +1-484-865-2020, or
Natalie de Vane, +1-484-865-5139, both of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals,
or Investors, Justin Victoria of Wyeth, +1-973-660-5340
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