Pittsburgh Law Office of Alfred G. Yates Jr., PC Announces Class Action Suit Against Pfizer, Inc. - PFE

Business Wire, Jan 12, 2005

PITTSBURGH -- Notice is hereby given by the Law Office of Alfred G. Yates Jr., PC that a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of all purchasers of the common stock of Pfizer, Inc. ("Pfizer" or the "Company") (NYSE:PFE) between November 1, 2000 and December 16, 2004, inclusive, (the "Class Period").

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than February 14, 2005. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff's counsel, Alfred G. Yates, Jr. at 1-800-391-5164 or via e-mail at yateslaw@aol.com. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.

The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants' issued false and misleading statements and omissions concerning the safety and marketability of Pfizer's Celebrex and Bextra products. At all times during the Class Period, defendants were aware that Celebrex and Bextra, drugs known as "Cox-2 inhibitors", posed serious undisclosed health risks to consumers. Defendants knew or recklessly disregarded that the undisclosed health risks posed by these drugs would limit their marketability, and that potential financial liability Pfizer faced from the harms these drugs caused posed a serious threat to the Company's financial condition. Nonetheless, defendants concealed these facts from the investing public, causing Pfizer's stock to trade at artificially inflated levels including a class period high of $48.06 per share, thereby damaging Plaintiff and the Class.

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.