Judge grants $570 million to lawyers in Wyeth diet pill case

PHILADELPHIA Lawyers for the patients who sued Wyeth over its diet pills have been granted $570 million in legal fees by U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III, according to Bloomberg.

The lawyers received $414 million based on the decision for helping negotiate a $5 billion settlement and had received $156 million from the judge in a previous decision.

The drugs in question were Pondimin and Redux, which were pulled off the market by the company in 1997. The drugs were used in combination with the drug phentermine to suppress appetites. The drugs have been linked by researchers to heart and lung problems.

In 2000, Wyeth officials sought to wrap up the “fen-phen” litigation with a $3.75 billion national settlement. In 2004, the company was forced to add an additional $1.3 billion to resolve claims of those who opted out of the initial accord.