Pfizer has settled more than 80 per cent of the more than 2700 US lawsuits filed against it involving the smoking cessation drug Chantix (varenicline), which is known as Champix in Australia.
In a statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Pfizer reported that it had recorded aggregate charges in 2012 of approximately US $273 million (AUS$234 million), in relation to the settlements for the cases which were files in US federal and state courts.
The company added that addition charges may be required in the future in connection to pending actions and claims relating to the drug.
“The federal Chantix actions were consolidated in the MDL more than three years ago, and the unresolved Chantix federal and state actions and other known, unresolved Chantix claims could take many more years to resolve,” Pfizer said in its statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“However, opportunistic settlements could occur at any time. The litigation process is time consuming, as every Chantix action being litigated involves contested issues of medical causation and knowledge of risk.”
A spokesperson for Pfizer Australia told Pharmacy News that the company does not comment on matters that are before the court.
Pfizer has settled more than 80 per cent of the more than 2700 US lawsuits filed against it involving the smoking cessation drug Chantix (varenicline), which is known as Champix in Australia.
In a statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Pfizer reported that it had recorded aggregate charges in 2012 of approximately US $273 million (AUS$234 million), in relation to the settlements for the cases which were files in US federal and state courts.
The company added that addition charges may be required in the future in connection to pending actions and claims relating to the drug.
“The federal Chantix actions were consolidated in the MDL more than three years ago, and the unresolved Chantix federal and state actions...