Two pharmaceutical companies have agreed to a settlement with two Nevada women who claimed hormone replacement drugs caused their breast cancer.

A civil lawsuit filed by Nadine Bender and Sheila Scott against Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Upjohn co. was scheduled for trial Jan. 10 in Washoe District Court.

Wyeth and Upjohn are now owned by Pfizer inc.

Lawyers involved in the case told District Judge Robert Perry this week that a settlement was reached, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported Tuesday. Details were not revealed.

Bender, who died while awaiting trial, and Scott, 81, claimed Wyeth’s estrogen pill, known as Premarin, and the drug Prempro, as well as Upjohn’s progestin pill, Provera, caused their breast cancer.

According to court documents, Bender began taking the drugs when she was 30 to help regulate her menstrual cycle. She continued once her menopausal symptoms started and stopped using the drugs when diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995.

Scott began the estrogen-progestin combination in 1989 and stopped when her breast cancer was found in 2001.

“As a matter of company policy, we do not comment on our legal strategy,” said Pfizer spokesman Chris Loder. “We stand by our hormone therapy medications, which remain an important treatment option for many women with debilitating symptoms of menopause, and we will continue to vigorously defend these medicines.”

Last month, the Nevada Supreme Court affirmed a $58 million jury award to three women who made similar claims against Wyeth.

The Nevada cases are among thousands filed across the country.

Loder said Pfizer “has prevailed in the vast majority” of the lawsuits “through a combination of rulings by judges, jury verdicts and dismissals by plaintiffs themselves to avoid going to trial.”

Pfizer shares gained 17 cents to $17.34 in midday trading Tuesday.

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