BUSINESS
By New York Times News Service | January 23, 2007
Drug giant Pfizer Inc. said yesterday that it would lay off 10,000 workers and close several manufacturing and research sites in an effort to bolster earnings hurt by the loss of patent protection on certain drugs and setbacks in developing new products. The company said the employee reductions were equivalent to about 10 percent of its worldwide work force and would take place by the end of next year. Among the cuts would be a 20 percent reduction in its European sales force. That move would follow a similar reduction announced two months ago in the company's American sales force and is included in the 10,000 figure.
NEWS
By DAVID WILLMAN and DAVID WILLMAN,LOS ANGELES TIMES | June 15, 2006
WASHINGTON -- A senior scientist at the National Institutes of Health exercised his right against self-incrimination yesterday, refusing to answer questions from a congressional subcommittee probing conflicts of interest at the agency. Dr. P. Trey Sunderland III, who remains chief of the geriatric psychology branch at the NIH's National Institute of Mental Health, had accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees from Pfizer Inc. while collaborating with the company in his official role.
BUSINESS
By Bloomberg News | November 29, 2006
NEW YORK -- Pfizer Inc. will slash 2,200 U.S. sales jobs as the world's largest drugmaker reduces expenses to compensate for revenue lost to cheaper generic pharmaceuticals. The 20 percent cut in Pfizer's sales staff of 11,000 is an "initial step" growing out of a companywide review of operations announced in October, Pfizer said in a statement yesterday. Pfizer said it would outline additional steps in January. Members of the U.S. sales staff will be notified next month whether they are among those being fired, said Paul Fitzhenry, a Pfizer spokesman.
BUSINESS
By BLOOMBERG NEWS | October 29, 2002
BEAUMONT, Texas - Pfizer Inc., the world's No. 1 drug maker, agreed to pay $49 million to settle a suit alleging that a company it acquired two years ago overcharged the federal and state governments for Lipitor, a cholesterol-lowering drug. The settlement was more than double the $21 million the Medicaid program overpaid for the drug in 1999, according to lawyers for plaintiff John David Foster, a former account manager for Pfizer's Parke-Davis unit. Foster raised questions about the charges for Lipitor that led to the whistle-blower suit in 2000.
BUSINESS
By BLOOMBERG NEWS | November 17, 1999
NEW YORK -- Pfizer Inc. urged shareholders of Warner-Lambert Co. yesterday to remove the company's directors as it stepped up pressure on the rival drug maker to accept a hostile takeover bid of $73 billion.Pfizer said it will begin soliciting shareholder votes as it tries to block a $70 billion friendly merger between Warner-Lambert and American Home Products Corp. Either transaction would create the world's largest drug maker.Warner-Lambert rejected Pfizer's bid and threatened to cancel the companies' partnership to market the cholesterol drug Lipitor, Warner-Lambert's best seller.
BUSINESS
By BLOOMBERG NEWS | March 18, 2003
NEW YORK -Pfizer Inc., the world's biggest drug maker, said yesterday that it expects to complete its $53 billion purchase of Pharmacia Corp. next month after agreeing with U.S. antitrust regulators to sell some products. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission staff will forward the proposal to the full commission for approval, Pfizer said. Pfizer spokesman Andy McCormick declined to identify the products to be sold, though the company said the divestments won't have a material effect on its business.