Issue 210 Item 9 Jury Finds Rezulin Diabetes Drug Not Liable for Deaths

A jury in Los Angeles on Thursday found that a diabetes drug sold by Warner-Lambert, was not responsible for the deaths or illness of three plaintiffs. The jury determined that the facts presented in the case did not support the claims that Rezulin caused or contributed to the deaths of two people or the liver disease of a third plaintiff, Pfizer said.

"We maintained from the very beginning that Rezulin did not cause or contribute to the health issues alleged in this case," Pfizer spokesman Bryant Haskins said.

"We made a convincing argument and obviously the jury agreed with us," he added.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2000 determined that Rezulin was more toxic to the liver than other diabetes drugs. Warner-Lambert, under pressure, voluntarily withdrew the drug from the market in March 2000 after two newer drugs with fewer side effects became available.

The drug, which was approved in 1997 for diabetic patients who were not doing well on insulin therapy, has been linked to dozens of deaths and thousands of liver problems and has been the subject of numerous law suits.

Pfizer, the world’s largest drugmaker, in January reached a national agreement to settle or dismiss about 35,000 personal injury cases related to Rezulin. The company set aside $975 million to cover the claims. Some cases, however, remain active.

A West Virginia appeals court last year overturned a lower court ruling that denied class-action status in the case and ordered it returned to trial as a class-action case.

But Pfizer, which acquired Warner-Lambert about three months after Rezulin was pulled from the market, is off the hook at least in the California trial after a unanimous jury decision found the plaintiffs failed to prove their case.
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