3 Fen-Phen victims win $500,000

A Pennsylvania jury awarded three women $500,000 for heart-valve damage caused by the Wyeth weight loss drug Fen-Phen while throwing out a fourth woman's claim, a lawyer for the women said.

The Utah women, Diana Hilton, 63; Patricia Judd, 46; Lorraine Kofford, 56; and Krysti Kollman, 43, sued the Madison, New Jersey-based drug and health-care products maker in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in 2002 seeking more than $50,000 each. The jury rejected Hilton's claim.

"We're disappointed in the verdict for Ms. Hilton, but we are very pleased with the awards to Ms. Judd, Ms. Kofford and Ms. Kollman," said plaintiffs' lawyer Ed Blizzard in a telephone interview.

This was the 10th fen-phen case to be tried in the same Philadelphia court since July. Wyeth has set aside more than $16 billion to resolve cases involving the Fen-Phen mixture, which included the company's Pondimin or Redux and generic phentermine.

The claims are specifically related to Pondimin, which was recalled from drugstores in 1997.

In his closing arguments, plaintiffs' lawyer Steven Kherkher told jurors that medical tests show the women have some heart-valve leakage and may need treatment that could include surgery as they get older.

Jurors were asked to answer whether each plaintiff's injury was caused by the ingestion of Pondimin and, if so, what amount of damages she will suffer as a result of the injury.

Shares of Wyeth, which reported $15.8 billion in sales last year, fell 18 cents to $39.12 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading at 4:18 p.m.

The case is Hilton v. Wyeth, NO. 02-1201206, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.