Pfizer Inc. (NYSE
![Stick Out Tongue :p :p](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
FE) is the largest pharmaceutical company in the world. It owns the
cholesterol-lowering drug
Lipitor, which brings in a quarter of its revenue and is the best selling medicine in the world as of 2008.
[1] However, Pfizer's 2007 sales have stagnated at $48 billion, representing a 0.1% growth from the previous year.
[2] Sales of depression drug Zoloft have declined precipitously after its patent expired in 2005. The patent for Lipitor will expire in 2010, and there are no guarantees that another equally profitable drug will come to maturity before then. The cholesterol drug
Torcetrapib was once hailed as Pfizer's next blockbuster drug but failed late stage clinical trials in 2006, severely setting back profit expectations and shaking investor confidence.
As the largest player in the market, Pfizer has greater power in marketing and forming alliances.
[3] The company also consistently posts the highest dividends in the industry.
[3] However, Pfizer faces challenges common to all players in the pharmaceutical industry, including issues surrounding
patent expiration and
FDA regulation. Pfizer's developmental pipeline included 213 products at the end of 2007,
[4] and investors in Pfizer will be betting that one of these drugs is the firm's next big hit.
Pfizer has announced that it plans to shift its research and development focus away from heart disease drugs to cancer and biotechnology drugs, which it says are more profitable. The former category includes the company's most profitable product, Lipitor.
[5]
On January 25, 2008, Pfizer agreed to acquire rival
Wyeth for $68 billion, or $50.19 per share, a 29 percent premium over the market price before rumors of the deal leaked. After the merger, Pfizer expects annual sales of over $70 billion and net income of over $20 billion. The company has stated that it plans to save $4 billion a year with the merger, which is one of the largest deals to hit Wall Street after the credit crisis.
[6]
http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Pfizer_(PFE)
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