Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, as part of an expected major restructuring, on Wednesday said by 2010 it would cut its work force 10 percent and slash the number of its manufacturing plants by more than half, to generate an additional $1.5 billion in savings. The company is also planning to sell its medical imaging business and reviewing strategic alternatives for its wound healing unit. Sales would bring the company cash to boost its core pharmaceuticals business.
Major drug makers AstraZeneca Plc and Pfizer Inc said on Friday they were upbeat about their prospects in the Japanese market, citing a sea change in the regulatory environment and mild generic competition.
A younger generation of chief executives in many boardrooms is set to spur the strategic overhaul.
A lack of significant new drugs and products, declining sales of lucrative flagship franchises and fierce competition have set off a wave of restructuring moves among the biggest names in health care. In many cases, restructuring is a euphemism for eliminating thousands of jobs, and it remains to be seen whether these moves are quick fixes to prop up dwindling profits, or a recognition of the industry's harsh new reality.
Pfizer Inc, Novartis AG and Wyeth all saw quarterly earnings hit by charges on Thursday, while Eli Lilly and Co exceeded Wall Street expectations as third-quarter sales of several of its drugs outpaced analysts' estimates. Pfizer, the world's largest drug maker, took a $2.8 billion charge to cut its ties to the inhaled insulin drug Exubera, a sensational failure of a product once touted as a can't-miss blockbuster.
Pfizer Inc said on Thursday third-quarter earnings fell sharply due to a $2.8 billion charge to end its involvement with the poorly selling inhaled insulin drug Exubera.
Pfizer Inc on Thursday named Martin Mackay, one of its senior research executives, as its new research chief, and selected a Merck & Co Inc research officer to head clinical development of its medicines.
A court case brought by Nigeria against Pfizer resumes on Wednesday with the U.S. drug maker saying it answered a call for help to save the lives of African children during a meningitis epidemic.
A court case brought by Nigeria against Pfizer resumes on Wednesday with the U.S. drug maker saying it answered a call for help to save the lives of African children during a meningitis epidemic.
Pfizer Inc, the world's largest drug maker, said on Friday it is in talks with investors about spinning off its Japanese research and development laboratory, albeit as a much smaller organization.
Eli Lilly & Co, the U.S. maker of antidepressant Prozac and erectile dysfunction drug Cialis, said its China sales were rising about 26 percent a year, on track to become the company's tenth biggest global market by 2010.
German drug maker Merck KGaA's Merck Serono unit won European Commission approval to market a new formulation of its Rebif drug to treat relapsing multiple sclerosis, the company said on Thursday.
Pfizer’s effort to extend the patent for its best-selling cholesterol-reducing drug Lipitor an additional 15 months into 2011 has been dealt preliminary setback.
A bid by Pfizer Inc. to win reissuance of a U.S. patent protecting its blockbuster Lipitor cholesterol medicine has been rejected on a preliminary basis, the company said on Friday.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved expanded use of Pfizer Inc's blockbuster cholesterol-lowering medicine Lipitor by five new categories, including one to reduce the risk of non-fatal heart attacks and strokes, the company said on Wednesday.
Pfizer Inc said on Monday that U.S. regulators approved its AIDS drug, Selzentry, the first in a new class of oral HIV medicines.
Johnson & Johnson said on Tuesday it planned to eliminate 3 percent to 4 percent of its global work force of about 120,500 people as part of a plan to improve its cost structure. The cost-cutting plan is expected to generate pretax cost savings of $1.3 billion to $1.6 billion in 2008, the diversified health care company said.
Pfizer Inc. on Wednesday reported lower-than-expected quarterly earnings on competition with generics, and said global sales of cholesterol fighter Lipitor fell 13 percent amid slipping demand for the company's flagship product.
Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday stuck with its 2007 earnings forecast despite surprisingly strong second-quarter results, sending shares down more than 1.7 percent.
Consolidation in Europe's drugs sector gathered steam on Thursday as Germany's Merck unveiled a $13.3-billion deal to buy Europe's top biotech firm Serono, and Denmark's Nycomed won the drugs unit of Altana.
Wall Street stocks are set for a muted start to Wednesday trade as investors consolidate positions after the push to four-month highs, with crude oil trading at $64 a barrel helping ease inflation concerns.
Pfizer, the world's largest drug maker, posted a 30 percent decrease in net income for the second quarter on Thursday as it faces strong challenges from generic competitors in the market after losing its patent rights over two of the most profitable drug for the firm.
