December 04, 2006

Pfizer Stock Plunges

Pfizer stock plunge was predicted by the Star-Ledger, not a difficult guess after the makers of Lipitor brace for the impact of the implosion of their "replacement blockbuster":
Pfizer's shares are expected to plunge this morning in the wake of the sudden demise of its promising cholesterol medicine. And a drop in the company's value may be just the start of a sweeping makeover of the New York drugmaker, which is expected to accelerate cost-cutting, including layoffs, and possibly rethink its entire marketing-driven business model.

As recently as Thursday, Pfizer executives were touting torcetrapib as its next blockbuster. But Saturday night the company was forced to abandon development of torcetrapib when an independent board monitoring a study recommended the work end because of an unexpected number of deaths and adverse cardiovascular events...

Torcetrapib represents a day of reckoning, of sorts, for the Pfizer sales and marketing juggernaut. Wall Street analysts said Pfizer's marketing organization doesn't have the stable of products to power the company past the problems plaguing the entire pharmaceutical industry.

"Pfizer has escaped the onslaught over the past 25 years. Now it's Pfizer's turn," said Hemant Shah, a pharmaceutical analyst at HKS & Co. in Warren

Hat tip: Art Caplan

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