Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

Pfizer Sees Lipitor Sales at Low End

[It must be from all of those docs switching patients to Zocor to get better efficacy. (That’s a joke )]

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070910/pfizer_lipitor.html?.v=1

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Monday September 10, 3:43 pm ET

Pfizer Sees Lipitor Sales Toward Lower End of View; Competition From Generic Zocor

NEW YORK (AP) -- Pfizer Inc. Monday said sales of its blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor are trending toward the lower end of its previous views.

In July, the New York-based pharmaceutical company projected 2007 Lipitor sales to be flat or down as much as 5 percent from last year's $12.9 billion.

In a presentation at the Bear Stearns Healthcare Conference on Monday, Chairman and Chief Executive Jeffrey Kindler cited market dynamics, fundamentals, and continuing competition for the shortfall in Lipitor sales.

In July, the company projected 2007 earnings of $1.30 to $1.41 per share, revenue of $47 billion to $48 billion. Kindler said the company stood by those projections.

Lipitor has come under heavy pressure due to the June 2006 expiration of the U.S. patent for Merck & Co.'s Zocor statin, which cleared the way for cheaper generic copies of Zocor. Although Zocor isn't identical to Lipitor, administrators of drug-benefit plans have tried to encourage members to switch to generic Zocor, or simvastatin, from Lipitor in order to cut costs.

Shares of Pfizer fell 29 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $23.96 in afternoon trading Monday.
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