Warner Chilcott Announces Settlements in Principle of Antitrust Suits Brought by States and Indirect Purchasers

    HAMILTON, Bermuda, April 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Warner Chilcott
 Limited ( WCRX) announced today that it has reached tentative
 settlements to conclude the antitrust lawsuits brought by thirty-four
 states and the District of Columbia and indirect purchasers, including the
 third- party payor class action plaintiffs and the personal use consumer
 class action plaintiffs, against certain of its subsidiaries. These
 lawsuits involve one of the Company's combined hormonal contraceptives,
 Ovcon(R) 35. Under the proposed settlements, all claims will be dismissed
 and the litigations will be terminated in exchange for cash payments and/or
 product donations amounting to approximately $7.5 million in the aggregate.
 The settlements remain subject to negotiation of definitive documentation
 and necessary approvals by the parties and the Court.
     These settlements do not include the related pending actions brought by
 certain individual and class action direct purchaser plaintiffs. Warner
 Chilcott continues to vigorously defend these lawsuits. Although it is
 impossible to predict with certainty the impact that these settlements will
 have on the continuing actions, or the outcome of any litigation, Warner
 Chilcott is confident in the merits of its defense and does not anticipate
 an unfavorable outcome.
     About Warner Chilcott
     Warner Chilcott is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on
 developing, manufacturing, marketing and selling branded prescription
 pharmaceutical products in women's healthcare and dermatology in the United
 States. WCRX-G
     Read more on http://www.warnerchilcott.com.
     Warner Chilcott's Forward Looking Statements:
     This press release contains forward-looking statements, including
 statements concerning our product development efforts. These statements
 constitute forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of
 the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act
 of 1934. The words "may," "might," "will," "should," "estimate," "project,"
 "plan," "anticipate," "expect," intend," "outlook," "believe" and other
 similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
 Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward looking
 statements, which speak only as of their dates. These forward-looking
 statements are based on estimates and assumptions by our management that,
 although we believe to be reasonable, are inherently uncertain and subject
 to a number of risks and uncertainties.
     The following represent some, but not necessarily all, of the factors
 that could cause actual results to differ from historical results or those
 anticipated or predicted by our forward-looking statements: our substantial
 indebtedness; competitive factors in the industry in which we operate; our
 ability to protect our intellectual property; a delay in qualifying our
 manufacturing facility to produce our products or production or regulatory
 problems with either third party manufacturers upon whom we may rely for
 some of our products or our own manufacturing facility; pricing pressures
 from reimbursement policies of private managed care organizations and other
 third party payors, government sponsored health systems, the continued
 consolidation of the distribution network through which we sell our
 products, including wholesale drug distributors and the growth of large
 retail drug store chains; the loss of key senior management or scientific
 staff; an increase in litigation, including product liability claims and
 patent litigation; government regulation affecting the development,
 manufacture, marketing and sale of pharmaceutical products, including our
 ability and the ability of companies with whom we do business to obtain
 necessary regulatory approvals; our ability to successfully complete the
 implementation of a company-wide enterprise resource planning system
 without disrupting our business; our ability to manage the growth of our
 business by successfully identifying, developing, acquiring or licensing
 and marketing new products, obtain regulatory approval and customer
 acceptance of those products, and continued customer acceptance of our
 existing products; and other risks detailed from time-to-time in our
 periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, our
 financial statements and other investor communications.
     We caution you that the foregoing list of important factors is not
 exclusive. In addition, in light of these risks and uncertainties, the
 matters referred to in our forward-looking statements may not occur. We
 undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
 statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise,
 except as may be required by law.
 
 

SOURCE Warner Chilcott Limited