<p>An Atlanta jury ruled Wednesday drug maker Wyeth was not responsible for health problems alleged by a woman who used one of the companys diet drugs, part of the banned fen-phen combination. Wyeths stock price jumped more than 8 percent on the news.</p><p>A Superior Court jury in Fulton County returned a unanimous verdict in Wyeths favor in a case brought by Linda Eichmiller, a registered nurse who had alleged that taking the diet drug Pondimin injured her heart valves.</p><p>We proved that there was insufficient information to suggest an association between diet drugs and valvular heart disease when the plaintiff began using the product, said Peter Bleakley, an attorney representing Madison, N.J.-based Wyeth. We clearly showed that the plaintiffs medical condition was caused by a number of factors and could not be narrowed to her use of the diet drug Pondimin.</p><p>The decision is Wyeths second victory in the seven cases decided by a jury so far, according to company spokesman Lowell Weiner. Two weeks ago, a Texas jury awarded $1.3 million in damages to a woman who suffered heart damage after taking a Wyeth diet drug.</p><p>Eichmiller said she was disappointed by the decision, but doesnt know whether she will appeal.</p><p>I havent thought that far ahead, Eichmiller, 53, of Duluth, Ga., said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. I was hoping for them to make sure my medical care was provided since their medication caused it, and I wasnt expecting (the jury) to give the entire case to the defense. Im just a little shocked.</p><p>Eichmiller said the drug company should have behaved more responsibly, adding that the company didnt warn physicians about problems with Pondimin until a year after she stopped taking it.</p><p>Wyeth, formerly known as American Home Products, made Pondimin, the fenfluramine half of fen-phen, and a chemical cousin, Redux. Both drugs were withdrawn from the market on Sept. 15, 1997, after reports that in some patients they had caused heart-valve damage and dangerously high pressure in lung blood vessels.</p><p>About 6 million people had taken the drugs by then. No problems were linked to phentermine, the other drug in the combination.</p><p>Weiner said Eichmiller had a long history of high blood pressure and coronary artery disease. He said she took Pondimin from November 1995 through May 1996, and later took phentermine.</p><p>About 78,000 people have opted out of a $3.75 billion trust fund the company set up for injured fen-phen patients, and Wyeth has set aside a total of $16.6 billion to cover payouts from the trust, jury awards, settlements and legal costs. Wyeth will not disclose how many cases have been settled out of court.</p><p>Some analysts have questioned whether that reserve will be enough to cover all Wyeths costs to put the fen-phen debacle behind it.</p><p>Independent pharmaceuticals analysts Hemant Shah of HKS & Co. in Warren, N.J., said Wyeth has a poor track record on predicting its fen-phen liability, and that the company is likely to see some victories and some defeats as more trials proceed.</p><p>That is the reason why the stock has taken such big beating _ because so many people have opted out of the trust fund to take their chances in court, he said.</p><p>The company, which makes the arthritis drug Enbrel, depression drugs Ativan and Effexor, hormone replacement drugs and a number of vaccines, is going through a rough patch.</p><p>Its highly touted nasal spray influenza vaccine, FluMist, has had disappointing sales since it was launched this fall.</p><p>Also, Wyeths revenues and stock price have suffered since a huge federal study in July 2002 found its hormone replacement drug Prempro increased risk of heart attack, stroke, dangerous blood clots and breast cancer. Doctors had long believed the drug protected women from such age-related conditions.</p><p>Otherwise, the companys fundamentals are very good, said Shah.</p><p>In afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Wyeth shares were up $2.63, or 7 percent, at $40.38.</p><p>___</p><p>AP Business Writer Harry R. Weber in Atlanta contributed to this report.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x28566fc)</p>
