A federal judge in Alabama late Tuesday afternoon denied a request by Pfizer Inc. to delay by three months next week’s start of a federal trial in a lawsuit that claims the pharmaceutical giant’s anti-smoking drug Chantix caused a Minnesota man to commit suicide. “Given the current posture of this case, the court is of the opinion that a three-month continuance is not appropriate or needed,” U.S. District Judge Inge Johnson wrote in her ruling. Judge’s ruling: Pfizer made the request to delay the trial after the release today of a new clinical study on Chantix. Pfizer’s motion seeking delay: The trial, which is to begin Monday in Florence, Ala., is set to be the first federal lawsuit to go before a jury out of more than 2,600 lawsuits filed so far against Pfizer over Chantix. The lawsuits, filed by smokers or their families, claim the drug has caused suicides, suicide attempts, or other psychological problems.
