A Minnesota woman has received an undisclosed settlement with Pfizer Inc., maker of the anti-smoking drug Chantix, over the suicide death of her husband, Mark Alan Whitely. Judy Ann Whitely sued Pfizer, saying the pharmaceutical company didn’t warn consumers that Chantix might increase the risk of suicide. Whitely killed himself in November 2007.
While the Whitely case was the first of more than 2,500 Chantix-related cases in federal court that was set for trial, the settlement appears to be the only one Pfizer considered for settlement, according to the Whitely’s lawyer.
According to court records, Pfizer denied that Chantix led to Whitely’s suicide and the company claimed its warnings of suicide risk, which were updated from 2007-2009, were sufficient.
Further reading:
