Pfizer Inc.

 (/ˈfaɪzər/)[3] is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation. Pfizer is one of

the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, and was ranked 64th on the 2020 Fortune 500 list
of the largest U.S. corporations by total revenue, at $51.75 billion.[4][5]
Headquartered in Manhattan, Pfizer develops and produces medicines and vaccines for a wide
range of medical disciplines, including immunology, oncology, cardiology, endocrinology, and
neurology. Its products include the blockbuster drug Lipitor (atorvastatin), used to
lower LDL blood cholesterol; Lyrica (pregabalin) for neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia; Diflucan
(fluconazole), an oral antifungal medication; Zithromax (azithromycin), an antibiotic; Viagra
(sildenafil) for erectile dysfunction; Celebrex (also Celebra, celecoxib), an anti-inflammatory drug;
and Prevnar 13, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.
In 2016, Pfizer Inc. was expected to merge with Allergan to create the Ireland-based "Pfizer plc"
in a deal that would have been worth US$160 billion.[6] The merger was called off in April 2016,
however, because of new rules from the US Department of the Treasury against tax inversions, a
method of avoiding taxes by merging with a foreign company.[7] The company has made the
second-largest pharmaceutical settlement with the United States Department of Justice.[citation needed]
On December 19, 2018, Pfizer announced a joint merger of their consumer healthcare division
with UK pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline; the British company will maintain a controlling 68% of
shares.[8]
Pfizer was a constituent of the Dow Jones Industrial Average from 2004 to 2020, when it was
announced that the company would be replaced by Amgen in the Dow Jones. The change took
effect at start of trading on August 31, 2020.[9][10]

History[edit]
1849–2000[edit]

Charles Pfizer (1824–1906)

Charles Pfizer and his cousin Charles F. Erhart, both of German descent, founded Pfizer in New
York City in 1849. They launched the chemicals business, Charles Pfizer and Company, at
Bartlett Street[11] in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where they produced an antiparasitic called santonin.
This was an immediate success, although it was the production of citric acid that led to Pfizer's
growth in the 1880s. Pfizer continued to buy property to expand its lab and factory. Pfizer's
original administrative headquarters was at 81 Maiden Lane in Manhattan.[11] By 1906, sales
totaled $3.4 million.[citation needed][12]
World War I caused a shortage of calcium citrate, which Pfizer imported from Italy for the
manufacture of citric acid, and the company began a search for an alternative supply. Pfizer
chemists learned of a fungus that ferments sugar to citric acid, and they were able to
commercialize production of citric acid from this source in 1919. The company developed
expertise in fermentation technology as a result. These skills were applied to the mass production
of the antibiotic penicillin during World War II in response to the need to treat injured Allied
soldiers. "Pfizer, succeeded in producing large quantities of penicillin using deep-tank
fermentation. Its success helped make penicillin available to Allied soldiers by the end of the
war."[13]
Penicillin became very inexpensive in the 1940s, and Pfizer searched for new antibiotics with
greater profit potential. They discovered Terramycin (oxytetracycline) in 1950, and this changed
the company from a manufacturer of fine chemicals to a research-based pharmaceutical
company. Pfizer developed a drug discovery program focused on in vitro synthesis in order to
augment its research in fermentation technology. The company also established an animal health
division in 1959 with a 700-acre (2.8 km2) farm and research facility in Terre Haute, Indiana.[citation
needed]

By the 1950s, Pfizer had established offices in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Panama,
Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom. In 1960, the company moved its medical research
laboratory operations out of New York City to a new facility in Groton, Connecticut. In 1980, they
launched Feldene (piroxicam), a prescription anti-inflammatory medication that became Pfizer's
first product to reach one billion dollars in total sales.[14] During the 1980s and 1990s, Pfizer
Corporation growth was sustained by the discovery and marketing
of Zoloft, Lipitor, Norvasc, Zithromax, Aricept, Diflucan, and Viagra.[15][16]

2000–2010[edit]

Pfizer logo from 1990 to 2009

In this decade, Pfizer grew by mergers, including those with Warner–Lambert (2000),

[17]
 Pharmacia (2003),[18] and Wyeth (2009).[19]
Development of torcetrapib, a drug that increases production of HDL, or "good cholesterol", which
reduces LDL thought to be correlated to heart disease, was cancelled in December 2006. During
a Phase III clinical trial involving 15,000 patients, more deaths occurred in the group that took the
medicine than expected, and a sixty percent increase in mortality was seen among patients
taking the combination of torcetrapib and Lipitor versus Lipitor alone. Lipitor alone was not
implicated in the results, but Pfizer lost nearly $1 billion developing the failed drug and the market
value of the company plummeted afterwards.[20][21][22] That same year, the company also announced
it would acquire PowerMed and Rivax.[23][citation needed]
In September 2009, Pfizer pleaded guilty to the illegal marketing of the arthritis drug Bextra for
uses unapproved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and agreed to a $2.3 billion
settlement, the largest health care fraud settlement at that time.[24]
A July 2010 article in BusinessWeek reported that Pfizer was seeing more success in its battle
against makers of counterfeit prescription drugs by pursuing civil lawsuits rather than criminal
prosecution. Pfizer has hired customs and narcotics experts from all over the globe to track down
fakes and assemble evidence that can be used to pursue civil suits for trademark infringement.
Since 2007, Pfizer has spent $3.3 million on investigations and legal fees and recovered about
$5.1 million, with another $5 million tied up in ongoing cases.[25]
2000: Warner–Lambert acquisition[edit]
Pfizer acquired Warner–Lambert in 2000 for $111.8 billion.[26][third-party source needed] This created what was,
at the time, the second-largest pharmaceutical company in the world.[27] Warner–Lambert was
founded as a Philadelphia drug store in 1856 by William R. Warner. Inventing a tablet-coating
process gained Warner a place in the Smithsonian Institution. Parke–Davis was founded
in Detroit in 1866 by Hervey Parke and George Davis. Warner–Lambert took over Parke–Davis in
1976, and acquired Wilkinson Sword in 1993 and Agouron Pharmaceuticals in 1999.[citation needed]
2003: Pharmacia acquisition[edit]
In 2003, Pfizer merged with Pharmacia.[18]
The Upjohn Company was a pharmaceutical manufacturing firm founded in 1886 in Kalamazoo,
Michigan, by Dr. William E. Upjohn. The company was originally formed to make friable pills,
which were designed to be easily digested. Greenstone was founded in 1993 by Upjohn as a
generics division.[28] In 1995, Upjohn merged with Pharmacia, to form Pharmacia & Upjohn.
Pharmacia was created in April 2000 through the merger of Pharmacia & Upjohn with the
Monsanto Company and its G.D. Searle unit. The merged company was based in Peapack-
Gladstone, New Jersey. The agricultural division was spun off from Pharmacia, as Monsanto, in
preparation for the close of the acquisition by Pfizer.[29]
SUGEN, a company focused on protein kinase inhibitors, was founded in 1991 in Redwood City,
California, and acquired by Pharmacia in 1999. The company pioneered the use of ATP-mimetic
small molecules to block signal transduction. After the Pfizer merger, the SUGEN site was shut
down in 2003, with the loss of over 300 jobs, and several programs were transferred to Pfizer.
These included sunitinib (Sutent), which was approved for human use by the FDA in January
2006, passed $1 billion in annual revenues for Pfizer in 2010.[30] A related compound, SU11654
(Toceranib), was also approved for canine tumors, and the ALK inhibitor Crizotinib also grew out
of a SUGEN program.[31]
In 2003, the new Pfizer made Greenstone (originally established as a division of Upjohn) its
generic division, and focused on selling authorized generics of Pfizer's products.[28][32]
In 2008, Pfizer announced 275 job cuts at the Kalamazoo manufacturing facility. Kalamazoo was
previously the world headquarters for the Upjohn Company.[33]
2009: Wyeth acquisition[edit]

Pfizer logo from 2009 to 2021

On January 26, 2009, after more than a year of talks between the two companies, Pfizer agreed
to buy pharmaceuticals rival Wyeth for a combined US$68 billion in cash, shares and loans,
including some US$22.5 billion lent by five major Wall Street banks. The deal cemented Pfizer's
position as the largest pharmaceutical company in the world, with the merged company
generating over US$20 billion in cash each year, and was the largest corporate merger
since AT&T and BellSouth's US$70 billion deal in March 2006.[34] The combined company was
expected to save US$4 billion annually through streamlining; however, as part of the deal, both
companies must repatriate billions of dollars in revenue from foreign sources to the United States,
which will result in higher tax costs. The acquisition was completed on October 15, 2009, making
Wyeth a wholly owned subsidiary of Pfizer.[35]
The merger was broadly criticized. Harvard Business School's Gary Pisano told The Wall Street
Journal, "the record of big mergers and acquisitions in Big Pharma has just not been good.
There's just been an enormous amount of shareholder wealth destroyed."[36] Analysts said at the
time, "The Warner–Lambert and Pharmacia mergers do not appear to have achieved gains for
shareholders, so it is unclear who benefits from the Wyeth–Pfizer merger to many critics."[37]
2010: King Pharmaceuticals acquisition [edit]
In October 2010, Pfizer agreed to buy King Pharmaceuticals for $3.6 billion in cash or $14.25 per
share: an approximately 40% premium over King's closing share price October 11, 2010.[38]

2011–present[edit]
In February 2011, it was announced that Pfizer was to close its UK research and development
facility (formerly also a manufacturing plant) in Sandwich, Kent, which at the time employed 2,400
people.[39] However, as of 2014, Pfizer has a reduced presence at the site;[40] it also has a UK
research unit in Cambridge.[41]
On September 4, 2012, the FDA approved a Pfizer pill for a rare type of leukemia. The medicine,
called Bosulif, treats chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), a blood and bone marrow disease
that usually affects older adults.[42]
In July 2014, the company announced it would acquire Innopharma for $225 million, plus up to
$135 million in milestone payments, in a deal that expanded Pfizer's range of generic and
injectable drugs.[43]
On January 5, 2015, the company announced it would acquire a controlling interest in Redvax for
an undisclosed sum. This deal expanded the company's vaccine portfolio targeting
human cytomegalovirus.[44] In March 2015, the company announced it would restart its
collaboration with Eli Lilly surrounding the phase III trial of Tanezumab. Pfizer is expected to
receive an upfront sum of $200 million.[45] In June 2015, the company acquired
two meningitis drugs from GlaxoSmithKline—Nimenrix and Mencevax—for around $130 million,
expanding the company's meningococcal disease portfolio of drugs.[46]
In May 2016, the company announced it would acquire Anacor Pharmaceuticals for $5.2 billion,
expanding the company's portfolio in both inflammation and immunology drugs areas.[47] On their
final trading day, Anacor shares traded for $99.20 each, giving Anacor a market capitalisation of
$4.5 billion. In August, the company made a $40 million bid for the assets of the now
bankrupt BIND Therapeutics through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.[48] The same month, the
company announced it would acquire Bamboo Therapeutics for $645 million, expanding the
company's gene therapy offerings.[49] Later, in August, the company announced the acquisition of
cancer drug-maker – Medivation – for $14 billion.[50][51] On Medivation's final day of trading, its
shares were valued at $81.44 each, giving an effective market capitalisation of $13.52 billion.
Two days later, Pfizer announced it would acquire AstraZeneca's small-molecule antibiotics
business for $1.575 billion[52] merging it into its Essential Medicines business[53] In the same month
the company licensed the anti-CTLA4 monoclonal antibody, ONC-392, from OncoImmune.[54]
In May 2019 the company announced it would acquire Therachon for $810 million, expanding its
rare disease portfolio through Therachon's recombinant human fibroblast growth factor receptor 3
compound, aimed at treating conditions such as achondroplasia.[55] In June, Pfizer announced it
would acquire Array Biopharma for $10.6 billion boosting its oncology pipeline.[56]
In September 2020, the company announced it had purchased a 9.9% stake in CStone
Pharmaceuticals for $200 million (HK$1.55 billion), helping to commercialise its anti-PD-
L1 monoclonal antibody, CS1001.[57] In October, Pfizer announced it had acquired Arixa
Pharmaceuticals.[58]
2013: Zoetis spin-off[edit]
Main article: Zoetis

Plans to spin out Zoetis, the Agriculture Division of Pfizer and later Pfizer Animal Health, were
announced in 2012. Pfizer filed for registration of a Class A stock with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission on August 13, 2012.[59] Zoetis's IPO on February 1, 2013, sold 86.1 million
shares for US$2.2 billion.[60] Pfizer retained 414 million Class B shares, giving it an 83% controlling
stake in the firm.[61] The offering's lead underwriters were JPMorgan Chase, Bank of
America, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley.[60] Most of the money raised through the IPO was
used to pay off existing Pfizer debt.[62]
2015: Hospira acquisition[edit]
In February 2015, Pfizer and Hospira agreed that Pfizer would acquire Hospira for $15.2 billion,
[63]
 a deal in which Hospira shareholders would receive $90 in cash for each share they owned.[64]
[65]
 News of the deal sent Hospira share prices up from $63.43 to $87.43 on a volume of 60.7
million shares.[66] Including debt, the deal is valued at around $17 billion.[63] Hospira is the largest
producer of generic injectable pharmaceuticals in the world.[67] On the final day of trading, Hospira
shares traded for $89.96 each, giving a market capitalization of $15.56 billion.
2015: Attempted Allergan acquisition[edit]
Main article: Allergan

On November 23, 2015, Pfizer and Allergan, plc announced their intention to merge for an
approximate sum of $160 billion, making it the largest pharmaceutical deal ever, and the third
largest corporate merger in history. As part of the deal, the Pfizer CEO, Ian Read, was to remain
as CEO and chairman of the new company, to be called "Pfizer plc", with Allergan's CEO, Brent
Saunders, becoming president and chief operating officer. As part of the deal, Allergan
shareholders would receive 11.3 shares of the company, with Pfizer shareholders receiving one.
The terms proposed that the merged company would maintain Allergan's Irish domicile, resulting
in the new company being subject to corporation tax at the Irish rate of 12.5%--considerably lower
than the 35% rate that Pfizer paid at the time.[68] The deal was to constitute a reverse merger,
whereby Allergan acquired Pfizer, with the new company then changing its name to "Pfizer, plc".
[69][70]
 The deal was expected to be completed in the second half of 2016, subject to certain
conditions: US and EU approval, approval from both sets of shareholders, and the completion of
Allergan's divestiture of its generics division to Teva Pharmaceuticals (expected in the first
quarter of 2016).[69] On April 6, 2016, Pfizer and Allergan announced they would be calling off the
merger after the Obama administration introduced new laws intended to limit corporate tax
inversions (the extent to which companies could move their headquarters overseas in order to
reduce the amount of taxes they pay).[71]
2017: Pfizer Consumer Healthcare[edit]
In October 2017, reports emerged that Pfizer was undertaking a strategic review of its consumer
healthcare division, with possible results ranging from a partial or complete spin-off or a direct
sale.[72] The divestment was expected to raise approximately $15 billion.[73] Reckitt
Benckiser expressed interest in bidding for the division earlier in October[74] with Sanofi, Johnson
& Johnson, Procter & Gamble[75] and GlaxoSmithKline also being linked with bids for the business.
[76]
 On March 22, Reckitt Benckiser pulled out of the deal, a day later GlaxoSmithKline also pulled
out.[77]
In December 2018, GlaxoSmithKline announced that it, along with Pfizer, had reached an
agreement to merge and combine their consumer healthcare divisions into a single entity. The
combined entity would have sales of around £9.8 billon ($12.7 billion), with GSK maintaining a
68% controlling stake in the joint venture. Pfizer would own the remaining 32% shareholding. The
deal builds on an earlier 2018 deal where GSK bought out Novartis' stake in the GSK-Novartis
consumer healthcare joint business.[78][79] The transaction closed in August 2019 and gives GSK
three years to publicly list the business in the UK.[80]
2019: Sale of Upjohn and formation of Viatris [edit]
In July 2019, Pfizer announced that it would merge its off-patent branded and generic established
medicines business, known as Upjohn, with Mylan. The transaction created a new
company, Viatris, using a reverse Morris trust structure.[81][third-party source needed] The new business will
trade on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker NASDAQ: VTRS.[81] Pfizer shareholders
would own 57% of the new combined business. The Board of Viatris will be composed of Robert
J. Coury as Executive Chairman, Michael Goettler as CEO, eight people chosen by Mylan and
three chosen by Pfizer. In December 2019, Pfizer chose former CEO and Chairman, Ian Read
and Director of Pfizer, James Kilts. In February 2020, Pfizer announced W. Don Cornwell and
their final Board selection with Mylan selecting JoEllen Lyons Dillon, Neil Dimick, Melina Higgins,
Harry A. Korman, Rajiv Malik, Richard A. Mark, Mark W. Parrish and Pauline van der Meer Mohr
as their Board nominees – all directors of Mylan.[81]
In October 2020, the US Federal Trade Commission approved the combination.[82]
2020: COVID-19 vaccine
See also: Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

In May 2020, Pfizer began testing four different COVID-19 vaccine variations. It planned to

expand human trials to thousands of test patients by September 2020. The pharma company
injected doses of the potential vaccine BNT162b2, which was developed by the German
biotechnology company BioNTech, and into the first human participants in the U.S. in early May.
Based on the results, Pfizer said they "will be able to deliver millions of doses in the October time
frame" and expects to produce hundreds of millions of doses in 2021.[83]
In July 2020, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that two of the partners' four mRNA vaccine
candidates had won fast track designation from the FDA.[84][85] The company began Phase III
testing in the last week of July 2020, on 30,000 people and was slated to be paid $1.95 billion for
100 million doses of the vaccine by the United States government.[86] The U.S. deal priced two
doses at $39 and the company stated that it would not lower the rates for other countries until the
outbreak is no longer a pandemic.[87] Pfizer's CEO stated the companies in the private sector
producing a vaccine should make a profit.[88]
In September 2020, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that they had completed talks with the
European Commission to provide an initial 200 million vaccine doses to the EU, with the option to
supply another 100 million doses at a later date.[89][90]
In October 2020, it was reported that Pfizer would start testing the COVID-19 vaccine developed
by BioNTech on a broader range of subjects including children as young as 12. This would be the
first coronavirus vaccine trial to include children in the United States.[91]
On November 9, 2020, Pfizer announced that the vaccine had a nearly 95% efficacy rate with no
serious side effects.[92] On November 20, 2020, Pfizer applied for Emergency use
authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for the vaccine.[93] On December 2, 2020, the
United Kingdom granted emergency use authorization to Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine, becoming
the first country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine that had been tested in a "large clinical trial" of
"43,000 people".[94][95]
On December 4, 2020, Bahrain became the second country to approve emergency use of the
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for high-risk groups and later announced that the vaccine
would be provided free to the public.[96][97]
On December 8, 2020, Britain began initial distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine.[98] On December
9, 2020, British regulators told hospitals not to give the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to people prone
to "serious" allergic reactions, after two National Health Service staffers had symptoms of
"anaphylactoid reaction".[99]
Also on December 9, 2020, Canada became the third country to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech
COVID-19 vaccine, initially purchasing 20M doses and preserving the option to purchase up to
56M additional doses. An initial delivery of 249,000 doses was planned for December with up to
4M more doses planned for delivery by March 2021.[100][101]
On December 10, 2020, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held an advisory
committee meeting to discuss authorization of the vaccine.[102] An independent panel voted 17-4 in
support of the FDA approving the vaccine.[102] On the same day, Saudi Arabia approved the
vaccine, becoming the 4th country to do so.[97] The next day, December 11, 2020, the United
States officially became the 5th country to approve use of BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine.[103] The
FDA granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) and under the United States agreement with
Pfizer, Pfizer agreed to an initial distribution of 2.9 million doses on an immediate basis and 100
million doses through March 2021, with the United States providing the vaccine free to the public.
[104]

On December 21, 2020, the European Union European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended

granting a conditional marketing authorisation for the vaccine "Comirnaty" developed by
BioNTech and Pfizer.[105] On December 27, 2020, the European Union launched a co-ordinate
measure to rollout the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, which was distributed to all the 27
member states. The top officials of the Union called it a “touching moment of unity”.[106]
Pfizer introduced a new logo in January 5, 2021.[107]

Acquisition history[edit]
show

Pfizer acquisitions

Operations[edit]

The headquarters of Pfizer Japan in Tokyo

Pfizer is organized into nine principal operating divisions: Primary Care, Specialty Care,
Oncology, Emerging Markets, Established Products, Consumer Healthcare, Nutrition, Animal
Health, and Capsugel.[108]

Partnerships[edit]
In May 2015, Pfizer and a Bar-Ilan University laboratory announced a partnership based on the
development of medical DNA nanotechnology.[109]

Research and development[edit]

Pfizer's research and development activities are organized into two principal groups: the
PharmaTherapeutics Research & Development Group, which focuses on the discovery of small
molecules and related modalities; and the BioTherapeutics Research & Development Group,
which focuses on large-molecule research, including vaccines.[108] In 2007, Pfizer invested
$8.1 billion in research and development, the largest R&D investment in the pharmaceutical
industry.[110]
In 2018, Pfizer announced that it would end its work on research into treatments for Alzheimer's
disease and Parkinsonism (a symptom of Parkinson's disease and other conditions). The
company stated that approximately 300 researchers would lose their jobs as a result.[111]
In 2018, Pfizer signed an agreement with the German biotechnology company BioNTech, to
conduct joint research and development activities, to further the advance of mRNA-based flu
vaccines. Under the agreement, following BioNTech’s completion of a first in-human clinical
study, Pfizer would assume sole responsibility for further clinical development and
commercialization of mRNA-based flu vaccines.[112]
In 2020, Pfizer partnered again with BioNTech, to study and develop COVID-19 mRNA vaccine
candidates. On July 27, 2020, the companies announced the start of a global (except China)
Phase 2/3 safety and efficacy clinical study to evaluate the mRNA vaccine candidate BNT162b2.
[113]
 The companies plan to use Pfizer facilities to manufacture the vaccine if they receive FDA
approval.[114][115]
In November 2020, Pfizer announced that BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine, tested on 43,500
people, was found 90% effective, which was described as a "milestone."[116]

Products[edit]
As of 2017, Pfizer split its business into two primary segments: (1) innovative health, which
includes branded drugs and vaccines, and (2) essential health. In 2016, innovative health
generated $29.2 billion in revenue and essential health generated $23.6 billion.[117]
Key Pfizer products include a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, trademarked Prevnar 13; this,
along with Pneumosil, produced by the Serum Institute of India, and Synflorix, produced
by GlaxoSmithKline, is used for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal infections. The
introduction of the original, 7-valent version of the vaccine, developed by Wyeth in February
2000,[118] led to a 75% reduction in the incidence of invasive pneumococcal infections among
children under age 5 in the United States. Pfizer acquired Wyeth in 2009 and introduced an
improved version of the vaccine in 2010, for which it was granted a patent in India in 2017.
Prevnar 13 provides coverage of 13 bacterial variants, expanding beyond the original 7-valent
version.[119] As of 2012 the rate of invasive infections among children under age 5 had been
reduced by an additional 50%.[120] Prevnar 13 is Pfizer's best-selling product and the best-selling
vaccine in the world, with annual sales of $5.8 billion in 2020.[121]
Lyrica, a pregabalin for neuropathic pain, is another key product with sales of $4.6 billion in 2013;
the US patent on Lyrica was challenged by generic manufacturers and was upheld in 2014,
giving Pfizer exclusivity for Lyrica in the US until 2018.[122] Xeljanz, a tofacitinib) for rheumatoid
arthritis and ulcerative colitis, had sales of $1.77 billion in 2018 and in January 2019 it was top
drug in the United States for direct-to-consumer advertising, passing Humira.[123]

Bottles of the antidepressant Zoloft

In addition to marketing branded pharmaceuticals, Pfizer is involved in the manufacture and sale
of generics. In the US it does this through its Greenstone subsidiary, which it acquired as part of
the acquisition of Pharmacia.[124] Pfizer also has a licensing deal in place with Aurobindo, which
grants the former access to a variety of oral solid generic products.[125] Key historical generics
include:
  Atorvastatin (trade name Lipitor), a statin for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia.
Lipitor was developed by Pfizer legacy company Parke-Davis, a subsidiary of
Warner-Lambert and first marketed in 1996.[126] Although atorvastatin was the fifth
drug in the class of statins to be developed, clinical trials showed that atorvastatin
caused a more dramatic reduction in LDL-C than the other statin drugs. From 1996 to
2012 under the trade name Lipitor, atorvastatin became the world's best-selling drug
of all time, with more than $125 billion in sales over approximately 14.5 years.
[127]
 Lipitor alone "provided up to a quarter of Pfizer Inc.'s annual revenue for
years."[127] The patent expired in 2011.[128]
 Diflucan (fluconazole), the first orally available treatment for severe fungal infections.
Fluconazole is recommended as a first-line treatment in invasive candidiasis[129] and is
widely used in the prophylaxis of severe fungal infections in premature infants.
[130]
 Fluconazole is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.
[131]
 Patent protection ended in 2004 and 2005.[132]
 Flagyl (metronidazole) is a nitroimidazole antibiotic medication used particularly
for anaerobic bacteria and protozoa. It is antibacterial against anaerobic organisms,
an amoebicide, and an antiprotozoal.[133] As of 2018, it is second line for first episodes
of mild-to-moderate Clostridium difficile infection (formerly was first-line).[134] It is on the
World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.[131] The original patent
protection ended in 1982, but reformulation evergreening occurred thereafter.[135]
 Norvasc (amlodipine), an antihypertensive drug of the dihydropyridine calcium
channel blocker class. Amlodipine is on the World Health Organization's List of
Essential Medicines, a list of the most important medication needed in a basic health
system.[131] Patent protection ended in 2007.[136]
 Zithromax (azithromycin), a macrolide antibiotic that is recommended by the
Infectious Disease Society of America as a first line treatment for certain cases of
community-acquired pneumonia.[137] Patent protection ended in 2005.[138]
 Zoloft (sertraline), is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitor (SSRI) class. It was introduced to the market by Pfizer in 1991. Sertraline is
primarily prescribed for major depressive disorder in adult outpatients as well
as obsessive–compulsive, panic, and social anxiety disorders in both adults and
children. In 2011, it was the second-most prescribed antidepressant on the U.S. retail
market, with 37 million prescriptions.[139] The patent expired 2006.[140]

Promotional practices[edit]
See also: List of largest pharmaceutical settlements and Franklin v. Parke-Davis

Pfizer has long been known within the industry as one of the more aggressive marketers of their
products.[141][142][143] Access to Wyeth internal documents has revealed marketing strategies used to
promote Neurontin for off-label use.[144] In 1993, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
approved gabapentin (Neurontin, Pfizer) only for treatment of seizures. Warner–Lambert, which
merged with Pfizer in 2000, used activities not usually associated with sales promotion,
including continuing medical education and research, sponsored articles about the drug for the
medical literature, and alleged suppression of unfavorable study results, to promote gabapentin.
Within 5 years the drug was being widely used for the off-label treatment of pain and psychiatric
conditions. Warner–Lambert admitted to charges that it violated FDA regulations by promoting
the drug for pain, psychiatric conditions, migraine, and other unapproved uses, and
paid $430 million to resolve criminal and civil health care liability charges.[145] A Cochrane review
concluded that gabapentin is ineffective in migraine prophylaxis.[146] The American Academy of
Neurology rates it as having unproven efficacy, while the Canadian Headache Society and the
European Federation of Neurological Societies rate its use as being supported by moderate and
low-quality evidence, respectively.[147]
In September 2009, Pfizer agreed to pay US$2.3 billion to settle civil and criminal allegations that
it had illegally marketed four drugs—Bextra, Geodon, Zyvox, and Lyrica—for non-approved uses;
it was Pfizer's fourth such settlement in a decade.[148][149][150] The payment included $1.3 billion in
criminal penalties for felony violations of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and $1 billion to settle
allegations it had illegally promoted the drugs for uses that were not approved by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) and caused false claims to be submitted to Federal and State
programs. The criminal fine was the largest ever assessed in the United States up to that time.
[151]
 Pfizer has entered an extensive corporate integrity agreement with the Office of Inspector
General and will be required to make substantial structural reforms within the company, and
maintain the Pfizer website ( pfizer.com/pmc ) to track the company's post marketing
commitments. Pfizer had to also put a searchable database of all payments to physicians the
company had made on the Pfizer website by March 31, 2010.[152]
Peter Rost was vice president in charge of the endocrinology division at Pharmacia before and
during its acquisition by Pfizer. During that time he raised concerns internally about kickbacks and
off-label marketing of Genotropin, Pharmacia's human growth hormone drug. Pfizer reported the
Pharmacia marketing practices to the FDA and Department of Justice; Rost was unaware of this
and filed an FCA lawsuit against Pfizer. Pfizer kept him on, but isolated him until the FCA suit was
unsealed in 2005. The Justice Department declined to intervene, and Pfizer fired him, and he
filed a wrongful termination suit against Pfizer.[153] Pfizer won a summary dismissal of the case,
with the court ruling that the evidence showed Pfizer had decided to fire Rost prior to learning of
his whistleblower activities.[154]
A "whistleblower suit" was filed in 2005 against Wyeth, which was acquired by Pfizer in 2009,
alleging that the company illegally marketed their drug Rapamune. Wyeth is targeted in the suit
for off-label marketing, targeting specific doctors and medical facilities to increase sales of
Rapamune, trying to get transplant patients to change from their transplant drugs to Rapamune
and for specifically targeting African-Americans. According to the whistleblowers, Wyeth also
provided doctors and hospitals with kickbacks to prescribe the drug in the form of grants,
donations and other money.[155][156] In 2013, the company pleaded guilty to criminal mis-branding
violations under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. By August 2014 it had paid $491 million in civil
and criminal penalties.[157]
According to Harper's Magazine publisher John MacArthur, Pfizer withdrew "between $400,000
and a million dollars" worth of ads from their magazine following an unflattering article on
depression medication.[158]