Wyeth Drops on Earnings Miss

Although investors weren't impressed by the fourth quarter, a number of Wyeth's biggest drugs turned in solid performances vs. the same period in 2005. The antidepressants Effexor XR and the older Effexor had a combined gain of 11% to $936 million. These drugs are chemical cousins of Pristiq.

Sales of Enbrel climbed 40% to $416 million. The drug, which Wyeth sells outside the U.S. and Canada, treats inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. Sales of the pneumococcal disease vaccine Prevnar rose 20% to $502 million, and sales of the Premarin family of hormone replacement drugs rose 20% to $262.4 million.

The number of lawsuits vs. Premarin and Prempro rose, too, reaching 8,300 by the end of 2006. Plaintiffs say these drugs cause breast cancer.

Kenneth Martin, Wyeth's chief financial officer, told analysts Tuesday that Wyeth will approach litigation "one case at a time." Martin said it would be "hard to read anything into the outcome" of a single case. The company lost a $1.5 million verdict in a Pennsylvania state court Monday. Wyeth has won one case; it lost another case, but that verdict was overturned when the judge declared a mistrial.

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