Pfizer announced the details of an agreement with plaintiffs to resolve a state class action lawsuit in Madison County, Illinois involving Warner-Lambert's diabetes drug, Rezulin. Upon final approval of the agreement-which has been preliminarily approved by the court and is subject to class notification, a hearing and court authorization-Pfizer will establish a $60 million settlement fund, company said in a release.

Pfizer's general counsel, Jeff Kindler, said the settlement agreement will finance diabetes research and benefit patients in Illinois who used Rezulin and can document medical expenses related to the treatment of this debilitating disease. "While Pfizer firmly believes this case has no merit and that we would eventually prevail in the courts," Kindler added, "we've decided to resolve the matter to eliminate the expense and disruption of litigation that would take several years to work through."

The class action lawsuit was brought on behalf of purchasers of Rezulin who reside in Illinois. It sought a refund for all Rezulin tablets they had purchased. Plaintiffs did not allege that they had been injured by the diabetes medicine.

Rezulin was a prescription medication supplied by the Warner-Lambert Company before Pfizer acquired Warner-Lambert in June 2000. It was approved by the FDA in 1997 to treat Type 2 diabetes, a life-threatening illness that affects over 17 million Americans. Rezulin was voluntarily withdrawn from the market in March 2000 after two newer medicines became available that were comparable in effectiveness and that appeared to have fewer side effects.