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Pfizer, Incorporated (NYSE: PFE (http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/lcddata.html?ticker=PFE)), is a global pharmaceutical company, with headquarters in New York City. It produces the number-one selling drug Lipitor (atorvastatin, used to lower blood cholesterol); the oral antifungal medication Diflucan (fluconazole), the long-acting antibiotic Zithromax (azithromycin) and the well-known erectile dysfunction drug Viagra (sildenafil citrate).
Pfizer's shares were made a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average on April 8, 2004.
History
Pfizer is named after chemist Charles Pfizer (1824-1906) who launched his chemicals business from a building in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 1849. Here, he produced an antiparasitic called santonin. This was an immediate success, although it was the production of citric acid that really kick-started Pfizer's growth in the 1880s.
By 1910, sales totalled nearly $3 million, and Pfizer became established as an expert in fermentation technology. These skills were applied to the mass production of penicillin during the World War II, in response to an appeal from the US government. The antibiotic was urgently needed to treat injured Allied soldiers, and it soon became known as "the miracle drug". In fact, most of the penicillin that went ashore with the troops on D-Day was made by Pfizer.
By the 1950s, Pfizer was established in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom.
In 2000, Pfizer merged with Warner-Lambert in order to acquire full rights to Lipitor (atorvastatin), the blockbuster statin previously jointly marketed by Warner-Lambert and Pfizer. Warner-Lambert was based in Morris Plains, New Jersey where their former headquarters has now become a major base of operations for Pfizer. The Morris Plains facility is mostly used for administrative purposes. Most of Pfizer's research is done in Groton, Connecticut and Sandwich, England.
In 2002, Pfizer merged with competitor Pharmacia to become the largest pharmaceutical company in the world. The merger was again driven in part by the desire to acquire full rights to a blockbuster product, this time Celebrex (celecoxib), the COX-2 inhibitor previously jointly marketed by Searle (acquired by Pharmacia) and Pfizer.
Management
- Chairman, President, and CEO: Henry A. (Hank) McKinnell Jr.
- EVP and CFO: David L. Shedlarz
- SVP, Human Resources: Yvonne R. Jackson
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Brands
The following is a partial list of brands manufactured by Pfizer:
Medical discount programs
Recently, Pfizer, the world's largest research-based pharmaceutical company, announced a plan to help uninsured Americans pay for Pfizer's prescription drugs by offering steep discounts. Uninsured families earning under $45,000 and uninsured singles making less than $31,000 will save approximately 37% off the retail price. Uninsured families/people making more than $45,000 and $31,000 respectively, will save approximately 15%.
Bjork-Shiley heart valve
Pfizer purchased Shiley in 1979 at the onset of its Convexo-Concave valve ordeal, involving the Bjork-Shiley heart valve. Approximately 500 people died when defective valves failed and, in 1994, the United States ruled against Pfizer for ~$200 million.
Patients' rights legislation
Pfizer proposed a ban on all lawsuits against manufacturers of body implant parts which was proposed in the United States Congress as part of tort reform legislation.
Research and development
Pfizer has research and & development labs in the following locations:
Groton, Connecticut,
Sandwich, England,
Tokyo, Japan,
Amboise, France,
La Jolla, California,
Cambridge, Massachusetts,
Ann Arbor, Michigan,
St. Louis, Missouri,
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Diversity
Pfizer received a 100% rating on the Corporate Equality Index released by the Human Rights Campaign starting in 2004, the third year of the report.
See also
External links
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