Wyeth advances diet drug settlement discussions

Wyeth has announced that plaintiffs' attorneys representing a substantial number of claimants who have opted out of the National Diet Drug Settlement have agreed to participate in a proposed process for settling downstream opt-out cases, and that the Company is prepared to move forward with the process.

The proposed process provides a methodology for valuing different categories of claims and also provides a structure for individualized negotiations between Wyeth and lawyers representing diet drug claimants.

"We are pleased with the level of interest generated by the proposal," says Lawrence V. Stein, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Wyeth. "Although many steps remain to resolve this litigation, this is an important development in the settlement process."

Today's announcement follows last month's news that Wyeth was in talks with a group of plaintiffs' attorneys about a proposed settlement approach.

A stay mechanism has been designed to save the parties the time and expense required to prepare for and litigate cases while settlement negotiations proceed. The Company will continue to aggressively litigate with those plaintiffs' attorneys who do not participate in this process.