New Jersey Diet Drug Trial Completed

Madison, N.J.– Wyeth (NYSE:WYE) announced today that the jury in the case of Gloria Ann Stribling v. Wyeth, in New Jersey State Court in Hackensack (Bergen County), found in favor of the plaintiff and assessed total damages of $3 million. Wyeth is reviewing its post-trial options.

“We respectfully disagree with the jury’s finding and believe it is unsupported by the evidence, which demonstrated that Mrs. Stribling’s health problems were caused by her severe, longstanding obstructive sleep apnea and not the diet drugs she took more than 10 years ago,” says Steve Reade, an attorney from Arnold & Porter, who represented Wyeth. “The evidence also demonstrated that the drug labels were adequate, and that changes to those labels would have made no difference to Mrs. Stribling or her doctors.”

The trial began on September 22, 2008 before The Honorable Robert Polifroni. The plaintiff alleged primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) caused by her use of the diet drug Pondiminâ, a drug once marketed by Wyeth. In an earlier stage of the proceedings, the Court ruled that plaintiff could not pursue punitive damages in this case.