Wyeth Inc. (WYE) News

OTTAWA, ONTARIO, Oct. 14, 2009 (Marketwire) --

OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 10/14/09 -- The Competition Bureau announced today that it has reached an agreement with Pfizer Inc. and Wyeth requiring, among other things, that the companies divest a significant number of animal health products to resolve competition concerns with respect to their proposed merger.

Under the terms of an agreement with the companies, Pfizer and Wyeth will divest certain animal pharmaceutical and vaccine products to Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. Additionally, Pfizer will amend the terms of its existing arrangement with Paladin Labs Inc. governing the distribution, marketing and sale of Pfizer's human pharmaceutical product, Estring, in Canada to ensure continued competition in the supply of hormone replacement therapy products.

"The Bureau is very pleased with this result," said Melanie Aitken, Commissioner of Competition. "The parties' commitments address our concern that the merger would lessen competition substantially in the supply of certain human and animal health products."

Mergers in Canada are subject to review by the Competition Bureau under the Competition Act to ensure that they will not result in a substantial lessening or prevention of competition. The Consent Agreement with the parties follows an extensive analysis of numerous animal and human health product markets, including interviews with a wide range of industry participants. Over the course of the review, the Bureau cooperated closely with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, and received valuable input and expert advice from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada's Veterinary Drugs Directorate.

The full text of the Consent Agreement filed with the Competition Tribunal will be available shortly on the Tribunal's Web site (link to CT site http://www.ct-tc.gc.ca/).

The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency that contributes to the prosperity of Canadians by protecting and promoting competitive markets and enabling informed consumer choice.