MADISON, N.J., April 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Robert Essner, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Wyeth reported today at the Corporation’s annual meeting that stockholders elected the 11 current 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 2006, and approved adoption of the 2006 non-employee director stock incentive plan.
Stockholders also voted to defeat stockholder proposals regarding reimportation of prescription drugs, separation of the roles of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, additional disclosure of political contributions, and disclosing the Company’s animal welfare policy.
Two other stockholder proposals -- to adopt a simple majority vote for ruling on corporate governance matters; and to elect directors by a simple majority vote -- were passed. The Board of Directors will take these results under advisement and review them at its next meeting.
Also, at today’s meeting of the Board of Directors, a dividend of 25 cents ($.25) per share on the outstanding shares of Common Stock was declared payable on June 1, 2006, to stockholders of record at the close of business on May 12, 2006. A dividend of 50 cents ($.50) per share on the outstanding shares of Preferred Stock was declared payable on July 3, 2006, to stockholders of record at the close of business on June 13, 2006.
During today’s annual meeting, Mr. Essner summarized some of the highlights from the past year, stating, “We finished 2005 with strong double-digit earnings growth and continued our momentum with our first quarter 2006 earnings reported last week. We also recognized the need to reshape Wyeth into a company that can serve patients by bringing an array of new medicines to a price-sensitive market, while rebuilding our business to make us stronger and more focused. I believe Wyeth has started down the right path, showing progress in 2005 and again so far this year.”
Wyeth finished 2005 with five product franchises that exceeded $1 billion in revenue -- Enbrel, Effexor, Protonix, Prevnar and its Nutritionals line. As evidence of Wyeth’s growing international presence, Enbrel, Effexor and Nutritionals reported $1 billion in ex-U.S. revenues alone.
Adding to Wyeth’s success is the performance of its consumer and animal health divisions. Wyeth Consumer Healthcare reached $2.5 billion in sales last year with $1 billion of those sales generated internationally. The division’s top three brands -- Advil, Centrum and Robitussin -- are among the top 15 over-the-counter medications in the world.
Fort Dodge Animal Health continued to be a leader in the animal health industry. In mid-2005 Fort Dodge received licensure of West Nile-Innovator DNA, a novel equine vaccine developed in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control. This product represents a tremendous scientific milestone as the first DNA vaccine in the world to be approved for veterinary or human use.
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.
Wyeth
CONTACT: Media: Douglas Petkus of Wyeth, +1-973-660-5218, or Investor:Justin Victoria of Wyeth, +1-973-660-5340
Web site: http://www.wyeth.com/
