Amid the many nuggets that the drugmaker is disclosing today as part of its quarterly earnings announcement comes the news that the studies of bapineuzumab, an Alzheimer’s treatment, could be delayed in Europe. Why? Mixed midstage study data and concerns about possible side effects.

This is yet another setback for Wyeth, which has struggled to win FDA approval for various drugs or indications over the past couple of years. The Alzheimer’s medication, in particular, is a huge bet with the potential for enormous payoff, given the extent of the disease and the lack of suitable treatments.

You may recall, though, that the closely watched med, which Wyeth is developing with Elan, failed to achieve statistical significance and also raised the risk of a potentially serious side effect, especially in people with a genetic risk of developing Alzheimer’s, according to trial data released last July at the International Conference on Alzheimer’s (back story).

Other earnings highlights: the drugmaker posted a slight drop in its third-quarter profit but still managed to meet Wall Street forecasts; tightened its full-year profit guidance, excluding charges, to between $3.49 and $3.55 per share, from a prior range of $3.47 to $3.55 per share; pharma sales rose 5 percent to $4.89 billion, despite a 45 percent drop in sales of the Protonix heartburn; sales in the consumer health care unit fell 5 percent to $679 million thanks to Robitussin and Advil (see the complete earnings statement).