Pfizer Punitive Damages Are Set in Rezulin Case

A Texas jury ordered drug maker Pfizer Inc. to pay $1.5 million in punitive damages in addition to an earlier $23.46-million award to the family of a woman who died after taking the diabetes drug Rezulin, a spokesman for Pfizer said.

Pfizer spokesman Robert Fauteax restated the company’s intention to appeal the verdict. In a release last week, Pfizer said the state court had limited its defense time, excluded relevant evidence and improperly admitted evidence.

The Edinburg jury awarded the compensatory damages last week in the death of Rezulin patient Beatrice Herrera, based on arguments that company officials failed to properly warn consumers about risks tied to the diabetes drug.