Judge sets aside fen-phen award

Wyeth, the drugmaker involved in litigation over its fen-phen diet medication, said a judge in Philadelphia set aside a $1.4 million jury award to three Utah women who took the drug combination.

Judge Mark I. Bernstein also granted Wyeth's request for a new trial on liability, Wyeth said in a statement distributed Thursday on PR Newswire. The women claimed they suffered heart damage from taking fen-phen.

The court found that the "testimony of Dr. Harris Busch, plaintiffs' only liability expert witnesses, was inadequate and in violation of the Pennsylvania Rules of Evidence," Madison, New Jersey-based Wyeth said in the statement.

A jury originally awarded four women, all from Utah, a total of $2.1 million in damages to cover future medical expenses after a trial last year.