NEW YORK, July 2, 204 – LAWFUEL – Pfizer today announced the
details of an agreement with plaintiffs to resolve a state class action
lawsuit in Madison County, Illinois involving Warner-Lambert’s diabetes drug,
Rezulin. Upon final approval of the agreement-which has been preliminarily
approved by the court and is subject to class notification, a hearing and
court authorization-Pfizer will establish a $60 million settlement fund.
Pfizer’s General Counsel, Jeff Kindler, said the settlement agreement will
finance diabetes research and benefit patients in Illinois who used Rezulin
and can document medical expenses related to the treatment of this
debilitating disease. “While Pfizer firmly believes this case has no merit
and that we would eventually prevail in the courts,” Kindler added, “we’ve
decided to resolve the matter to eliminate the expense and disruption of
litigation that would take several years to work through.”
The class action lawsuit was brought on behalf of purchasers of Rezulin
who reside in Illinois. It sought a refund for all Rezulin tablets they had
purchased. Plaintiffs did not allege that they had been injured by the
diabetes medicine.
Rezulin was a prescription medication supplied by the Warner-Lambert
Company before Pfizer acquired Warner-Lambert in June 2000. It was approved
by the FDA in 1997 to treat Type 2 diabetes, a life-threatening illness that
affects over 17 million Americans. Rezulin was voluntarily withdrawn from the
market in March 2000 after two newer medicines became available that were
comparable in effectiveness and that appeared to have fewer side effects.
