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04 / 21 / 2005
Wyeth Annual Meeting of Stockholders and Declaration of Common and Preferred Stock Dividends
Madison, N.J., April 21, 2005 – Robert Essner, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Wyeth (NYSE:WYE) reported today that at the Corporation’s annual meeting, stockholders elected the 10 present members of the Board of Directors named in the Corporation’s proxy statement. Stockholders also ratified the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the Corporation’s independent registered public accounting firm for the year 2005.
In addition, stockholders voted to defeat four stockholder proposals regarding reimportation of prescription drugs, separation of the roles of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, disclosure of political contributions and a proposal regarding the discontinuation of Premarin® and protection of mares.
Mr. Essner summarized some of the highlights of 2004 stating, “Last year was a great year for Wyeth in many respects. Our financial performance was strong, we made significant advances in our new product pipeline, we enhanced our manufacturing capabilities for key products and made real progress on the diet drug litigation front.”
Mr. Essner noted that Wyeth recently announced outstanding first quarter results, which were among the best in the Company’s long history, and that these results are a continuation of a track record of solid growth at Wyeth.
In 2004 Effexor® delivered sales of more than $3 billion, and became the number one selling antidepressant worldwide as well as one of the top 10 selling drugs globally. While growth in the antidepressant market has slowed significantly, Effexor is expected to achieve revenue growth again in 2005 with stronger growth coming from international markets.
Enbrel® achieved more than $2.5 billion in global sales in 2004, driven by increased demand for use in treating rheumatoid arthritis and by a new indication for the treatment of psoriasis. Last month, Wyeth launched Enbrel for rheumatoid arthritis in Japan.
In addition, Prevnar®, a vaccine for prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease in infants and children, reached a major milestone in 2004 when it became the first ever billion-dollar per year vaccine. Mr. Essner said, “Before the introduction of Prevnar in the U.S., there were approximately 17,000 cases of invasive pneumococcal disease, 700 cases of meningitis and 200 deaths from these diseases reported every year in infants and children under the age of five. After the first year of Prevnar usage in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control reported a 78 percent reduction in invasive pneumococcal disease caused by vaccine serotypes in children younger than two years of age.” To date, the Company has distributed over 90 million doses of Prevnar worldwide and estimates that approximately 30 million children have been vaccinated since Prevnar’s launch in 2000. Mr. Essner added, “Wyeth researchers are continuing to work on new versions of Prevnar which expand its usefulness globally for both children and adults, and we are working with international agencies to help provide access to Prevnar in the developing world.”
“Innovation is the key to success for today’s pharmaceutical environment. Our strategy, both to build our future and to provide a competitive edge, is based on innovation. Over the past four years, we have moved 48 compounds from discovery to development. Although research is risky and failure rates are high, our pipeline is developing extremely well and we are on track to meet our target of bringing two new products to market every year. In fact, we plan to file six major new drug applications in the next two years, ” said Mr. Essner. In 2004 the Company invested $2.4 billion in research and development, and that investment is expected to increase significantly in 2005 to help support clinical development of the robust late-stage pipeline.
In closing, Mr. Essner emphasized, “These are challenging times for the pharmaceutical industry. Pricing pressures continue to escalate and political and regulatory barriers are becoming higher each year. We are building Wyeth into a company better able to deal with these pressures. Wyeth is a company based on innovation. We have a great line of growing products on the market, supported by a commercial organization that can compete with anyone. We have an outstanding pipeline, filled with drugs with significant potential for both patients and investors, and this is backed by a research organization of remarkable productivity.”
At today’s meeting of the Board of Directors, a dividend of twenty-three cents ($.23) per share on the outstanding shares of Common Stock was declared payable on June 1, 2005, to stockholders of record at the close of business on May 13, 2005. A dividend of fifty cents ($.50) per share on the outstanding shares of Preferred Stock was declared payable on July 1, 2005, to stockholders of record at the close of business on June 13, 2005.
Wyeth is one of the world’s largest research-driven pharmaceutical and health care products companies. It is a leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing, and marketing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biotechnology products, and nonprescription medicines that improve the quality of life for people worldwide. The company’s divisions include Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare and Fort Dodge Animal Health.
The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements based on current expectations of future events that involve risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, risks associated with the inherent uncertainty of the timing and success of pharmaceutical research, product development, manufacturing, commercialization, economic conditions including interest and currency exchange rate fluctuations, changes in generally accepted accounting principles, the impact of competitive or generic products, trade buying patterns, wars or terrorist acts, product liability and other types of lawsuits, the impact of legislation and regulatory compliance and obtaining reimbursement, favorable drug pricing, access and other approvals, environmental liabilities, and patent, and other risks and uncertainties, including those detailed from time to time in the Company’s periodic reports, including current reports on Form 8-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and the annual report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may vary materially from the forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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