Excerpted from CNN, Wednesday, 23 April 2003.

Wyeth: Fen-Phen Reserves Adequate

Drugmaker Says $14.6B Has Been Put Aside To Cover Liability From Diet Drugs.

New York (Reuters) -- Drugmaker Wyeth said Wednesday the $14.6 billion it has already set aside to cover its liability to former users of its "fen-phen" diet drugs appears to be adequate.

Company officials told analysts in a conference call they see no immediate need to set aside additional reserves to compensate patients who allege they were harmed by the prescription diet drugs.

In 1997 the Madison, New Jersey-based drugmaker recalled two diet drugs, Pondimin (fenfluramine) and Redux (dexfenfluramine), which had been used in the "fen-phen" diet cocktail. It recalled them after some of the 6 million Americans who took the drugs developed signs of heart damage or a highly fatal condition known as primary pulmonary hypertension.

Some industry analysts have predicted Wyeth may need to set aside billions of dollars more in coming years to compensate fen-phen users, many of whom allege the company was so intent on driving up sales of the drugs that it failed to inform consumers of the dangers posed by the products.

Excerpted from CNN, Wednesday, 23 April 2003.