| Company: | Pfizer Inc. |
| Ticker Symbol: | NYSE: PFE |
| Class Period: | October 31, 2000 and December 16, 2004 |
| Date Filed: | Dec-23-04 |
| Lead Plaintiff Deadline: | Feb-12-05 |
| Court: | Southern District, NY |
| Allegations: |
A class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of Pfizer Inc. ("Pfizer") (NYSE:PFE) publicly traded securities during the period between October 31, 2000 and December 16, 2004 (the "Class Period").
The complaint charges Pfizer and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Pfizer is a research-based, global pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines for humans and animals, as well as consumer healthcare products.
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants issued false and misleading statements and omissions regarding the safety and marketability of Pfizer's Celebrex and Bextra COX-2 inhibitor products. Throughout the Class Period, defendants were made aware of strong indicators that Pfizer's COX-2 inhibitor drugs posed serious undisclosed health risks to patients who were prescribed the drugs. As a result of the defendants' false statements, Pfizer's stock traded at inflated levels during the Class Period.
The true facts, which were known by each of the defendants but concealed from the investing public during the Class Period, were as follows: (a) that although the information does not appear in the U.S. package insert and prescribing information, Celebrex increases the potential for causing adverse cardiovascular events, since it is a selective COX-2 inhibitor capable of creating a metabolic imbalance between prothrombic cyclo-oxygenase-1 (COX-1) and antithrombotic cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) metabolism; (b) that prior clinical studies, including the CLASS study where concurrent low-dose aspirin therapy, ibuprofen or diclofenac controls were employed, were flawed and defective, since non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ("NSAID") use also impacts the metabolic balance between COX-1 and COX-2 metabolism, potentially lowering the observed number of cardiovascular events in those studies; (c) that even as defendants promoted Celebrex to physicians, patients and investors on the basis of its safety and efficacy, health authorities continued to receive alarming reports of observed cardiovascular and cerebrovascular adverse reactions in patients not predisposed to cardiovascular disease; (d) that even as defendants heralded the safety of Celebrex following the recall of Vioxx, another anti-arthritic drug marketed by Merck, defendants knew that, unlike the scientifically valid clinical studies triggering the Vioxx recall, previous clinical trials pointing to the cardiovascular safety of Celebrex, including the CLASS study, were so flawed and defective that additional clinical studies looking at cardiovascular safety were required; and (e) that even as defendants intensified their retail advertising campaign and public statements following the Vioxx recall, including publishing full-page advertisements in major newspapers heralding the safe use of the drug, overwhelming and indisputable data and results pointed to a class-specific cardiovascular health risk for COX-2 inhibitors, including the adverse cardiovascular safety data defendants had already generated for Bextra, the Company's other selective COX-2 inhibitor drug, and nearly completed specific safety studies of Celebrex that would demonstrate that Celebrex suffered from the class-specific cardiovascular risks attributable to COX-2 inhibitors.
On December 17, 2004, Pfizer announced it had "received new information ... about the cardiovascular safety of its COX-2 inhibitor Celebrex (celecoxib) based on an analysis of two long-term cancer trials." On this news, Pfizer shares fell to as low as $22 per share.
If you acquired the securities of the defendants during the Class Period you may, no later than the Lead Plaintiff Deadline shown above, request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff through counsel of your choice. You may also choose to remain an absent class member. A lead plaintiff must meet certain requirements.
The complaint charges Pfizer and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Pfizer is a research-based, global pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines for humans and animals, as well as consumer healthcare products.
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants issued false and misleading statements and omissions regarding the safety and marketability of Pfizer's Celebrex and Bextra COX-2 inhibitor products. Throughout the Class Period, defendants were made aware of strong indicators that Pfizer's COX-2 inhibitor drugs posed serious undisclosed health risks to patients who were prescribed the drugs. As a result of the defendants' false statements, Pfizer's stock traded at inflated levels during the Class Period.
The true facts, which were known by each of the defendants but concealed from the investing public during the Class Period, were as follows: (a) that although the information does not appear in the U.S. package insert and prescribing information, Celebrex increases the potential for causing adverse cardiovascular events, since it is a selective COX-2 inhibitor capable of creating a metabolic imbalance between prothrombic cyclo-oxygenase-1 (COX-1) and antithrombotic cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) metabolism; (b) that prior clinical studies, including the CLASS study where concurrent low-dose aspirin therapy, ibuprofen or diclofenac controls were employed, were flawed and defective, since non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ("NSAID") use also impacts the metabolic balance between COX-1 and COX-2 metabolism, potentially lowering the observed number of cardiovascular events in those studies; (c) that even as defendants promoted Celebrex to physicians, patients and investors on the basis of its safety and efficacy, health authorities continued to receive alarming reports of observed cardiovascular and cerebrovascular adverse reactions in patients not predisposed to cardiovascular disease; (d) that even as defendants heralded the safety of Celebrex following the recall of Vioxx, another anti-arthritic drug marketed by Merck, defendants knew that, unlike the scientifically valid clinical studies triggering the Vioxx recall, previous clinical trials pointing to the cardiovascular safety of Celebrex, including the CLASS study, were so flawed and defective that additional clinical studies looking at cardiovascular safety were required; and (e) that even as defendants intensified their retail advertising campaign and public statements following the Vioxx recall, including publishing full-page advertisements in major newspapers heralding the safe use of the drug, overwhelming and indisputable data and results pointed to a class-specific cardiovascular health risk for COX-2 inhibitors, including the adverse cardiovascular safety data defendants had already generated for Bextra, the Company's other selective COX-2 inhibitor drug, and nearly completed specific safety studies of Celebrex that would demonstrate that Celebrex suffered from the class-specific cardiovascular risks attributable to COX-2 inhibitors.
On December 17, 2004, Pfizer announced it had "received new information ... about the cardiovascular safety of its COX-2 inhibitor Celebrex (celecoxib) based on an analysis of two long-term cancer trials." On this news, Pfizer shares fell to as low as $22 per share.
If you acquired the securities of the defendants during the Class Period you may, no later than the Lead Plaintiff Deadline shown above, request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff through counsel of your choice. You may also choose to remain an absent class member. A lead plaintiff must meet certain requirements.
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