March 6 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday

upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit by a conservative group

opposed to diversity initiatives in medicine that challenged a

Pfizer ( PFE ) fellowship program designed to boost the pipeline

of Black, Latino and Native American people in leadership

positions at the drugmaker.

The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled

that the Virginia-based non-profit organization Do No Harm

lacked standing to challenge the drugmaker's program, saying "it

did not identify by name a single member injured by Pfizer's ( PFE )

alleged discrimination."

Pfizer ( PFE ) in a statement welcomed the ruling, saying it was an

"equal opportunity employer and is proud of its commitment to

diversity, equity and inclusion."

Do No Harm did not immediately respond to requests for

comment. The group said it counts doctors, medical students and

others as members and aims "to protect healthcare from radical,

divisive and discriminatory ideologies."

It sued Pfizer ( PFE ) in 2022 over the company's Breakthrough

Fellowship Program, which aimed to increase the pipeline of

Black, Latino and Native American leaders, arguing it

discriminated against white and Asian-American applicants.

Pfizer ( PFE ) altered the program's criteria while the case was

pending and now anyone can apply.

The lawsuit was filed a month before the U.S. Supreme Court

heard arguments in cases in which its conservative majority

would later in June 2023 declare unlawful race-conscious college

admissions policies used by Harvard University and the

University of North Carolina.

That decision, while focused on college admissions, has

prompted a wave of lawsuits challenging diversity programs at

companies, some of which have since altered their policies.

The lawsuit against Pfizer ( PFE ) claimed its program violated laws

including Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which

bars racial bias in contracting, and Title VI of the Civil

Rights Act of 1964, which protects employees and job applicants

from racial discrimination.

In Wednesday's opinion, U.S. Circuit Judge Beth Robinson

said that Do No Harm claimed to have standing to challenge the

program because two anonymous white or Asian-American members of

the group claimed they could not apply to the fellowship.

But Robinson, an appointee of Democratic President Joe

Biden, said Do No Harm never disclosed the identities of either

member to the court and that a lower court judge as a result

rightly concluded it failed to establish standing.

Two other 2nd Circuit judges agreed to affirm the case's

dismissal. One of them, U.S. Circuit Judge Richard Wesley, an

appointee of Republican former President George W. Bush, only

partially concurred, saying the two other judges went too far by

imposing a rule requiring associations to name their members to

prove standing.

"That is an unfortunate ruling for organizations

everywhere," Wesley wrote.