MADISON, N.J., March 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wyeth (NYSE: WYE)
confirmed today that it will appeal the verdicts in the case of Donna
Scroggin v. Wyeth, in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of
Arkansas, beginning with post-trial motions.
"There is no basis in fact or law for this award or for the earlier
compensatory damage award. We will pursue several post-trial motions and
will ultimately appeal the entire case if necessary. We are confident in
our position on appeal," says Lyn P. Pruitt, an attorney with Mitchell,
Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard, PLLC, a firm representing Wyeth in the
case.
On February 25, 2008, the jury awarded the plaintiff $2.75 million in
compensatory damages against Wyeth and co-defendant Upjohn. After a second
phase of the trial, the jury subsequently awarded $19,360,000 in punitive
damages against Wyeth and $7,760,000 against Upjohn.
Of the six other cases that have gone to trial and reached resolution,
four resulted in judgments for Wyeth, one resulted in a plaintiff's
judgment, while the other was remanded for a new trial. Four other cases
set for trial were dismissed by courts on summary judgment and a dozen
other trial-set cases have been voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiffs
before trial.
The first phase of the trial began on February 5, 2008 before The
Honorable William R. Wilson. The second phase began on March 3, 2008. The
plaintiff alleged that she developed breast cancer from the use of
Premarin(R) and Prempro(R), products marketed by Wyeth.
Premarin (conjugated estrogens tablets USP) and Prempro (conjugated
estrogens/medroxyprogesterone acetate tablets) are approved by the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration as safe and effective when used as indicated.
About Wyeth
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 nonprescription 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 risks associated with the inherent
uncertainty of the timing and success of product research, development and
commercialization (including with respect to our pipeline products), drug
pricing and payment for our products by government and third- party payors,
manufacturing, data generated on the safety and efficacy of our products,
economic conditions including interest and currency exchange rate
fluctuations, changes in generally accepted accounting principles, the
impact of competitive or generic products, trade buying patterns, global
business operations, product liability and other types of litigation, the
impact of legislation and regulatory compliance, intellectual property
rights, strategic relationships with third parties, environmental
liabilities, 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." We assume no
obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
SOURCE Wyeth
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Related links:
http://www.wyeth.com
CONTACT:
Media, Douglas Petkus, +1-973-660-5218 or
Investors, Justin Victoria, +1-973-660-5340, both of Wyeth
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