$67.5 Million Shareholder Settlement with Pfizer over Pristiq

A class-action lawsuit brought by a named plaintiff, City of Livonia Employees’ Retirement System, has resulted in a $67.5 million settlement of the class-action lawsuit brought by former shareholders of Wyeth, Inc. The lawsuit alleged that shareholders were misled about the risks associated with the antidepressant, Pristiq.

The settlement was made public on Nov. 9, 2012, one month after Pfizer agreed to pay $164 million to settle a separate lawsuit accusing it of misleading investors about clinical trial results for the arthritis drug, Celebrex.

When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration refused to approve Pristiq to treat “hot flashes” in post-menopausal women until it learned more about the potential for heart and liver side effects, Wyeth share value lost more than $7.6 billion.

Many of the shareholders in the class that brought this suit were also pension fund recipients. It was alleged that Wyeth chose not to reveal the adverse effects sooner, which caused its stock price to be inflated during the class period, June 26, 2006 to July 24, 2007. Pfizer bought Wyeth in 2009. Several of the Wyeth executives were also named defendants in this lawsuit.

Pristiq generated $461 million of sales from January 2012 to September 2012. At one time, it was believed that sales of Pristiq would top $2 billion. The settlement was reached after nearly 6 months of mediation. The class action lawsuit was brought in the U.S. District Court in New York City.

City of Livonia Employees Retirement System v. Wyeth, et al., U.S. District Court Southern District of New York, 07-10329.
Kreisman Law Offices has been handling business litigation matters, pharmaceutical tort actions and personal injury matters for individuals and families for more than 36 years, in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Morton Grove, Wheaton, Waukegan, Bensenville, Itasca, Palatine, Chicago (Englewood), Chicago (Gresham), Riverdale, Blue Island and Hickory Hills, Ill.