After being hit with a class action lawsuit in early October, medicinal drug manufacturer Pfizer, has been fighting to maintain its stance in legitimacy. Stories from a wide range of women have come to the surface after having contracted meningioma which has had historic ties, based on previously conducted research, to adverse effects with progesterone. Many have begun questioning its true impact after seeing the eerie similarities between each woman’s story of now having brain tumors.
For example, a woman named Robin Phillip shared with NBC News that her initial experience with a decade’s worth of migraines was recently revealed to be a brain tumor. More specifically, an intracranial meningioma. Meningioma is a brain tumor that is typically benign in nature and often requires surgery for removal and relief. However, these surgeries are usually high-risk and have a high risk of causing damage to the brain structure, depending on the placement of the tumor. After receiving an emergency surgery, Phillip has since lost vision in one of her eyes and had to relearn how to walk. Phillip is one of the many women on a growing list who have banded together against Pfizer in their latest lawsuit. According to The Guardian, the number of women who have filed lawsuits in the United States against Pfizer has reached over 1,300 since May of this year.
Many have grown even more concerned with the lawsuit after learning the distinct ties between Black women and the Depo-Provera shot. A 2024 contraceptive study revealed that from their sampling size, 8.43% of African American women were DePo users, making them the largest demographic to utilize the medication in comparison to Latin (4.4%) and white (1.8%) women.
Pfizer’s argument in the case is that they did advocate to have new warning labels placed on the drug prior to being administered, but that it was the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) disapproval of the label change that led to there being no formal communication of the concern. However, the label has been updated for use in other parts of the world, such as Europe and Canada, causing a larger conversation around the medical company’s awareness of the health risk. According to Reuters, the FDA rejected the label change request after believing that the data presented was not strong enough for the motion.
The team of attorneys at Levin Papantonio is arguing in the lawsuit on behalf of the women impacted and has made it a point to include month-by-month updates on the case along with its proceedings on a local level.