COLCHESTER, Conn., Dec. 31, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Scott + Scott, LLC (e-mail: nrothstein@scott-scott.com), has filed a class action lawsuit against Pfizer, Inc. (NYSE:PFE) in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut on behalf of those who purchased or acquired Pfizer, Inc. securities from October 31, 2000 to December 16, 2004 (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit against Pfizer alleges the Company violated the federal securities laws by issuing materially false and misleading statements during the Class Period. New prescriptions for Pfizer's pain killer Celebrex(r), the leader in a class of drugs called cox-2 inhibitors, plummeted 56% last week just after a federal study found a link between Celebrex(r) and a heightened risk of heart attacks and strokes. This lawsuit also names individual defendants Henry A. McKinnell, who was Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer and John L. LaMattina, who was President of Gobal Research and Develpoment of Pfizer. Specifically, as stated in the complaint, LaMattina was responsible for scientific reporting concerning the safety of Celebrex(r).
Scott + Scott has filed this lawsuit on behalf of Pfizer shareholders everywhere due to their alleged belief that, the Company, according to the complaint, employs well over 4,000 workers at these facilities. Scott + Scott further states that the world-class, $294-million Pfizer Global Research & Development (PGRD) headquarters can house up to 2,000 highly skilled employees. In addition to senior management of the Research & Development division, the facility serves as the center for the company's global development team, responsible for demonstrating the effectiveness and safety of drugs through clinical trials, such as the introduction of Celebrex(r).
According to the allegations, Pfizer Inc. said it found an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes for patients taking high dosages of its top-selling arthritis painkiller Celebrex, the same problem that led to the withdrawal of its one-time competitor Vioxx--made by Merck. The company has since stated that it has no plans to remove Celebrex(r) from the market, but the disclosure last Friday sent Pfizer's shares tumbling because of fears that it could cripple sales of what had been the most-prescribed drug for treating arthritis, causing shareholders to bring this action.
Shares of Pfizer, a member of the Dow index and the world's largest pharmaceutical maker, plunged $3.23, or 11.15 percent, to $25.75 upon this announcement. The complaint states that at the time of the announcement, the decline wiped out almost $25 billion of Pfizer's market value. Both Pfizer's Celebrex(r) and Merck's Vioxx(r) are a type of drug called cox-2 inhibitors. Vioxx was pulled from the market in September because it doubled patients' risk of heart attack and strokes. Further, in an independent National Cancer Institute study of 2000 patients, not done by Pfizer, 15 individuals taking 400 mgs, 20 patients taking 800 mgs and 6 patients on a placebo suffered a cardiac-related death, heart attack or stroke.
The complaint alleged that in a separate study done by Pfizer, the Company found no increased heart risk with patients taking 400mg of Celebrex(r) per day. Further it is alleged that those safety claims may cause problems for Pfizer--citing recent company statements, including a Nov. 4 press release touting the drug's safety, members of Congress asked Pfizer for documents regarding Celebrex(r) and Bextra(r), the company's other Cox-2 inhibitor. They want to know what information Pfizer had about the NCI study when it made the safety statements.
Plaintiff contends that the Company has declared in the first nine months of the year worldwide sales of Celebrex(r) more than doubled from a year earlier to $2.3 billion, accounting for 6 percent of Pfizer's total sales of $37.6 billion during that period. The withdrawal of Vioxx(r) has been a financial and public relations disaster for Merck. Its legal liabilities are estimated at up to $18 billion, and its shares have dropped by nearly one-third since the recall announcement in late September. Vioxx(r) had been Merck's No. 2 earner with annual global sales of $2.5 billion, amounting to 11 percent of the company's $22.49 billion in revenue last year. Earlier this month, according to the complaint, the Food and Drug Administration said it was adding a warning to the labels of another Pfizer drug, Bextra(r), noting a risk of potential heart problems associated with the use of Bextra(r) in the people who have recently had heart bypass surgery. Bextra(r) is also a cox-2 inhibitor type of drug. Pfizer shareholders who acquired or purchased their shares after October 31, 2000 and up to November 16 20004 are included in this lawsuit.
ABOUT SCOTT + SCOTT, LLC
Scott + Scott, LLC, a Connecticut-based law firm with offices in Ohio and California, with a national practice and reputation, is one Connecticut's premier complex litigation law firms. Scott + Scott dedicates itself to client communication and satisfaction. The firm is currently litigating major securities, antitrust and employee retirement plan cases throughout the United States and represents pension funds, charities, foundations, individuals and other entities worldwide -- in both class and non-class cases. In Connecticut, Scott + Scott is currently active in such class cases as those against the Hartford, United Rentals and Star Gas. It recently settled a case against Annuity & Life Re (the firm is currently still litigating against the auditors, KPMG) and defeated Priceline.com's motion to dismiss the complaint (the firm is currently still litigating against the auditors, KPMG). The firm is also actively involved in a class action lawsuit on behalf of participants and beneficiaries of the Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Savings and Security Plan and the Employee Stock Purchase and Security Plan. The Merck lawsuit has been filed to recover losses suffered by Merck current and former employees who have suffered losses in their retirement accounts as a result Merck's deteriorating outlook following the recall of Vioxx, one of its best-selling drugs.
Please visit our website at http://www.scott-scott.com to learn more about the firm, its practice and other cases. If you wish to discuss this action with an attorney or have any questions concerning this notice, your rights or any matter within our expertise, please contact attorneys Neil Rothstein at nrothstein@scott-scott.com or David R. Scott at drscott@scott-scott.com or by calling 800-404-7770 (EDT) or 800-332-2259 (PDT). You can dial direct in California at 619-233-4565 or in Connecticut at 860-537-3818. You can also reach Neil Rothstein directly at 619/251-0887.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.