Pfizer
FeedSurging mergers and acquisitions trigger a boom in investigations
Michelle Leder
Nov 13th 2009 at 4:00PM
Filed under: Economy, Investing, Hewlett-Packard, Pfizer, Berkshire Hathaway
It's hard to ignore the fact that mergers-and-acquisitions activity has jumped dramatically recently. Although we're not even halfway through November, 214 deals have already been announced for a total deal value of $67.1 billion according to Thomson Reuters. By far the biggest one was Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.A) $44 billion deal for railroad company Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI). Others include Hewlett-Packard's (HPQ) deal to buy 3Com (COMS) for $2.7 billion, which was announced late Wednesday, and the $5.2 billion deal by private-equity firms TPG Capital and the CPP Investment Board for IMS Health announced on Nov. 5. If the trend continues, deal flow could easily surpass January, when the $68 billion Pfizer/Wyeth (PFE) deal was announced, pushing deal activity to $86.6 billion.
Viagra meets its match: Sex pills for the female libido are on their way
Jonathan Berr
Nov 13th 2009 at 12:20PM
Filed under: Company News, Healthcare, Pfizer
The pharmaceutical industry has discovered the female libido. German biotech company Boehringer Ingelheim is "putting the finishing touches on a pill designed to reawaken desire by blunting female inhibitions," according to Bloomberg News, which scientists will discuss next week in Lyon, France.The drug has nothing to do with George Clooney, or getting male spouses to help more around the house. Turns out women's sex drives are centered in the brain. Who knew? (Not most guys, probably.)
Pfizer keeps growing -- and keeps cutting jobs
Melly Alazraki
Nov 9th 2009 at 3:00PM
Filed under: Company News, Healthcare, Pfizer
Well, what do you know: Pfizer (PFE) is cutting more jobs.Now that the acquisition of Wyeth is complete, the giant drugmaker announced a massive research and development reorganization. This didn't really come as a surprise when two large companies combine operations. Despite the expectation, however, such announcements -- especially when unemployment is running at 10.2% -- can still cause jitters.
Pfizer is calling its reorg a "global research and development network [which] brings together scientific strengths from both companies, continues efforts to increase research productivity, focuses disease-area research in single locations and more efficiently uses the company's real estate."
No daily Viagra dose, no peace! Philly transit workers rise up in protest
Jonathan Berr
Nov 7th 2009 at 4:00PM
Filed under: Healthcare, Media, Pfizer
The striking union of transit workers in Philadelphia are angry that they're not getting daily doses of Viagra. And amazingly, their bosses apparently caved on their demands after the union turned down a generous offer -- and threatened to embarrass the city during the World Series.The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has agreed to cover almost all of its rising health-care costs, and to increase coverage for Pfizer's (PFE) Viagra and other erectile dysfunction treatments, the Philadelphia Daily News reports. Workers are unhappy that their health insurance plan only covers about 10 pills a month.
Johnson & Johnson joins Big Pharma's job-cutting parade
Melly Alazraki
Nov 3rd 2009 at 12:45PM
Filed under: Company News, Earnings, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, GlaxoSmithKline
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), despite all its efforts and diversification, couldn't escape doing what most pharmaceutical companies have done in the face of increasing pressures from generic-drug companies and the recession. J&J said on Tuesday it plans to cut 6 percent to 7 percent of its workforce of approximately 117,000 in a bid to prop up profits.The New Brunswick, N.J.-based company said the cuts, mostly achieved through reducing layers of management, will affect some 7,000 to 8,000 worldwide. But today is Election Day in the company's base state, and one cannot help but wonder if the timing of such an announcement from one of the largest private employers in New Jersey isn't politically motivated in support of the challengers in the three-way race for governor, or at least against the Democratic incumbent, Jon Corzine.
Diet pills: Vivus, Arena and Orexigen in race to market safe weight-loss drugs
Melly Alazraki
Oct 28th 2009 at 12:30PM
Filed under: Company News, Healthcare, Pfizer, Sanofi Aventis
On NBC's hit series The Biggest Loser, obese contestants must huff and puff through weeks of endless push-ups, sit-ups and treadmill sprints in hopes of shedding more pounds than their rivals. But with all the sweat and tears required to go from fat to fabulous, many other plus-sized people are holding out for a safe diet pill that could get the same jaw-dropping results without all the effort.
Now, there may finally be some real options on the horizon. Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA) said Tuesday a late-stage trial of lorcaserin shows its experimental obesity drug improves patients' body composition such as body mass index and waist circumference. Meanwhile, rivals Vivus (VVUS) and Orexigen Therapeutics (OREX) are developing similar drugs. All three are racing to be the first to provide a safe drug that really works in a market potentially worth billions of dollars.
Pfizer in court again, this time for Wyeth's menopause treatment Prempro
Melly Alazraki
Oct 27th 2009 at 8:15PM
Filed under: Company News, Healthcare, Pfizer
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) sure is no stranger to finding itself in court. The pharmaceutical giant is constantly defending its practices and drugs, often ending up paying millions if not billions in damages -- even admitting to felony criminal charges. Pfizer has also inherited lawsuits with some of the companies it has purchased. It's recent $68 billion mega acquisition of Wyeth is no different.On Monday, a Philadelphia jury, which had earlier found a link between a woman's breast cancer and the hormone-replacement drug she was taking, also found that Wyeth hid and ignored evidence of the drug's potential cancer risk. The jury awarded Connie Barton an undisclosed amount of punitive-damages.
Pfizer earnings beat the Street. Beating future hurdles will be tougher
Melly Alazraki
Oct 20th 2009 at 4:00PM
Filed under: Company News, Investing, Healthcare, Earnings, Pfizer
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) sure had a busy third quarter, thanks at least partly to the ongoing process of acquiring Wyeth for $68 billion. The two officially merged on Oct. 16, creating an even larger pharmaceutical company that will likely continue to restructure for some time. So this latest quarterly report doesn't include results from Wyeth operations, leaving investors in the dark about Wyeth's third quarter.Pfizer Chairman and CEO Jeff Kindler described Pfizer's results as "solid operational performance in an environment that continues to be challenging." Earnings indeed were up 26 percent to $2.88 billion, or 43 cents a share, but that was mostly due to cost-cutting measures from site closures and job cuts -- 1,100 during the third quarter alone. Adjusted earnings per share were 51 cents, beating estimates of 48 cents per share.
Earnings scorecard: Good, but good enough?
Dan Burrows
Oct 20th 2009 at 1:00PM
Filed under: Investing, Earnings, Coca-Cola Company, Pfizer, Apple
Third-quarter earnings season has arrived with a vengeance. In less than 24 hours, we've heard from tech heavyweights Apple (AAPL) and Texas Instruments (TXN), as well as five components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU). Mr. Market appears to be ignoring the mostly better news coming out of these bellwethers Tuesday, focusing instead on the latest batch of disappointing housing data. To help investors keep their eyes on the prize of earnings, revenue and outlooks, here's a recap of the biggest names reporting in time for today's trading session:
Pfizer boosts profits on cost-cutting as sales fall three percent
AP
Oct 20th 2009 at 9:05AM
Filed under: Company News, Investing, Earnings, Pfizer
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) on Tuesday posted a higher third-quarter profit despite the recession, as sharp cost cuts made up for slightly lower sales.The maker of cholesterol fighter Lipitor, impotence treatment Viagra and smoking cessation drug Chantix slashed costs on everything from manufacturing and marketing to research and development to produce a profit of $2.88 billion. That was up 26 percent from $2.28 billion a year earlier, when the company had a huge legal charge over promotion of its painkillers.
Smoking vaccine fails in clinical trial
Melly Alazraki
Oct 19th 2009 at 1:00PM
Filed under: Company News, Investing, Pfizer
Not two weeks after an experimental cocaine vaccine showed promise in helping drug addicts kick that habit, a report has been released showing that an anti-smoking vaccine has failed to reach its targets in a mid-stage study. In the year-long Phase II study, early indications showed the nicotine vaccine NIC002 couldn't achieve a statistically significant improvement in continuous abstinence from smoking in weeks 8 to 12 after the start of treatment, compared to a placebo. Novartis (NVS), which bought the rights to the nicotine addiction vaccine from Swiss start-up Cytos Biotechnology in April 2007, will stay on-board for the duration of the trial, though the drug now seems unlikely to reach the market. Not only is the study result a blow to smokers hoping to quit; it's also a blow to Cytos, which saw its shares slammed in the Swiss market on Friday. Cytos is now unlikely to get its milestone payment from Novartis, leaving it to fend for itself. However, Cytos CEO Wolfgang Renner assured DailyFinance in an emailed statement that "The financing of our operations in the next two years are secured and are not affected by the latest results. So there are no immediate consequences from the newest result."
Stocks in the news: Hasbro, Google, Amgen, BB&T
Melly Alazraki
Oct 19th 2009 at 9:00AM
Filed under: Company News, Earnings, IBM, General Electric , Google , Microsoft, Pfizer, Southwest Airlines, Sprint Nextel Corp., Apple, McDonald's
Hasbro Inc. (HAS) said Monday its profit rose 8.8 percent to $150.4 million, or 99 cents per share, in the third quarter, helped by lower costs and slightly higher sales of Transformers and G.I. Joe toys. The results beat estimates for earnings of 93 cents a share. Still, revenue fell 1.7 percent to $1.28 billion, missing analysts' estimates of $1.32 billion. Shares gained nearly a percent ahead of the bell. McDonald's (MCD) and Whirlpool (WHR) are among other retailers reporting this week.J&J, Abbott beat expectations: a good sign for pharma results yet to come?
Melly Alazraki
Oct 14th 2009 at 7:00PM
Filed under: Company News, Earnings, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer
Two of the drug industry's bigger names -- Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Abbott Labs (ABT) -- managed to top Wall Street's profit expectations for third quarter earnings this week, revealing that diversification in product portfolios helped their bottom lines. But the better-than-expected results were met with opposite responses from investors, with J&J punished because its sales fell short of investors' hopes. Abbott shares, meanwhile, headed higher after reporting that third-quarter sales for its arthritis drug Humira, the drugmaker's biggest product, surged 24 percent to $1.49 billion, beating analyst estimates.New Brunswick, N.J.-based J&J earned $3.35 billion, or $1.20 a share, compared with $3.31 billion, or $1.17, in the year-ago period. Analysts expected earnings of $1.13 a share. Despite the stronger showing, it seems investors' fears regarding generic competition materialized. Even though the Band-Aids maker managed to grow profit by 1.1 percent, it did so predominantly through cost cuts and lower taxes. More worrisome, sales declined 5.3 percent to $15.1 billion from $15.92 billion, missing the Street's revenue estimate of $15.19 billion.
Pfizer halts patient enrollments in a lung-cancer drug trial
Melly Alazraki
Oct 12th 2009 at 3:00PM
Filed under: Company News, Healthcare, Pfizer
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) on Friday said it has stopped enrolling new patients in a late-stage clinical trial of its experimental lung-cancer compound with the tongue-tying name of figitumumab. Pfizer made this decision for safety reasons, it confirmed in an e-mailed statement to DailyFinance on Monday morning. Sally Church of Pharma Strategy Blog first broke the news on Friday.Independent safety monitors overseeing the study recommended that Pfizer suspend enrollments after finding more serious adverse events, "including fatalities, in patients who were randomized to receive figitumumab," than with patients not receiving the drug. Pfizer says 681 patients were enrolled in trial (of the 820 it planned) as of of Sept. 30, and those patients may continue their treatment in consultation with their physicians.
A slightly healthier forecast for global pharmaceutical sales in 2010
Melly Alazraki
Oct 8th 2009 at 6:00PM
Filed under: Company News, Investing, Healthcare, Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sanofi Aventis
The global pharmaceutical market is set to grow 4 percent to 6 percent next year, exceeding $825 billion, market intelligence and research company IMS Health (RX) said on Oct 7. This is higher than previous IMS estimates by one percentage point. Through 2013, the researcher predicts worldwide pharmaceutical sales will grow at a 4 percent to 7 percent compound annual growth rate and reach a market value of more than $975 billion in that year.Is this prediction too optimistic? After all, industry observers are buzzing about the "patent cliff" in 2012-2013, when so many blockbuster drugs are due to lose patent protection and face increased competition from generic drugs. Worse, Big Pharma's new-drug pipeline has been less than stellar, with very few promising blockbuster drugs on the way to replace the lost big sellers.
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