NEW YORK, Dec. 17, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Murray, Frank & Sailer LLP has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of shareholders who purchased or otherwise acquired the securities of Pfizer, Inc. ("Pfizer" or the "Company") (NYSE:PFE) between November 1, 2000 and December 16, 2004, inclusive (the "Class Period").
The complaint alleges that defendants misrepresented and omitted material facts about the safety and marketability of Pfizer's Celebrex and Bextra products. Plaintiff further alleges that Defendants were aware of strong indications that Celebrex and Bextra, drugs known as "Cox-2 Inhibitors," posed serious and undisclosed health risks to the drug's consumers, that the undisclosed health risks would hinder their marketability, and that the potential financial liability Pfizer would face due to these drugs' harms posed a serious financial threat to the Company. Despite such knowledge, Defendants continued to conceal these facts from consumers and the investing public.
A series of revelations caused the market to learn the truth about Bextra and Celebrex. On November 4, 2004, the Calgary Herald reported that "Celebrex, a popular pain drug touted as the safe alternative after Vioxx was pulled from drugstore shelves, is suspected of causing at least 14 deaths and numerous heart and brain side effects." Then, on November 10, 2004, the New York Times revealed a study finding that "(t)he incidence of heart attacks and strokes among patients given Pfizer's painkiller Bextra was more than double that of those given placebos." This news shocked the market, causing Pfizer's share price to drop 8% over the next eight days.
Before the market opened today, Pfizer again shocked the market, revealing that "(i)n the Adenoma Prevention with Celecoxib (APC) trial, patients taking 400mg and 800mg of Celebrex daily had an approximately 2.5 fold increase in their risk of experiencing a major fatal or non-fatal cardiovascular event compared to those patients taking placebo, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Based on these statistically significant findings, the sponsor of the trial, the NCI, has suspended the dosing of Celebrex in the study." Pfizer's share price has dropped precipitously in response to this news.
Murray, Frank & Sailer LLP and its predecessor firms have devoted its practice to shareholder class actions and complex commercial litigation for more than thirty years and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for shareholders in class actions throughout the United States.
If you purchased (on the open market or in an employee retirement account) or otherwise acquired Pfizer securities on any world exchange between November 1, 2000 and December 16, 2004, and sustained damages, you may, no later than February 14, 2005, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff. Shareholders outside the United States may also join the action, regardless of which exchange was used to purchase the securities. To serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements. You can join this class action as lead plaintiff online at http://www.murrayfrank.com/CM/NewCases/NewCases.asp. If you would like to discuss this action, this announcement, or your rights and interests, please contact plaintiff's counsel Eric J. Belfi or Aaron D. Patton of Murray, Frank & Sailer LLP.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca