Pfizer and Merck post modest results
pharmafile | May 6, 2010 | News story | Sales and Marketing | 2010 financials, Merck, Pfizer
The acquisition of Wyeth has added over $5 billion to Pfizer’s revenue buts its own sales fail to shine.
Both the Wyeth acquisition and favourable currency exchange rates pushed revenue up 55% but Pfizer legacy products decreased 1% to $137 million and net income was down 26% to $2 billion.
Anti-cholesterol treatment Lipitor – the world’s biggest-selling drug – grew by a modest 1% to $2.8 billion, but faces a large generic cliff next year.
Recently launched kidney cancer treatment Sutent has seen a strong growth of 28%, but blood pressure drug Norvasc was the company’s biggest loser, falling 23% to $368 million due to generic pressures.
Elsewhere its top-selling products saw modest rises, with pain treatment Lyrica up 6%, antibiotic Zyvox 4% and arthritis treatment Celebrex up just 1% on last year.
Jeff Kindler, chairman and chief executive at Pfizer, said: “Our results this quarter demonstrate the ability of our colleagues to deliver solid operational performance in a challenging environment as well as to extract value for shareholders from the acquisition of Wyeth.”
Commenting on the company’s pipeline, Kindler said: “We are excited about our more diverse in-line product portfolio, including Prevnar 13 for infants and toddlers, which has been approved in more than 40 markets, and our expanded pipeline. We expect to receive phase three clinical results for numerous compounds in our pipeline during the remainder of 2010.”
The US health reform continues to impact pharma companies. Frank D’Amelio, chief financial officer, said Pfizer expected to take a $300 million hit in 2010 as a result of the reforms, with more to come in later years.
“We are reducing our 2012 target revenue range by $800 million due to the anticipated impact of that legislation. However, we expect to offset the impact on earnings from the anticipated decline in revenue through spending reductions and other means.”
Merck follows suit
It was a similar story at Merck, which also undertook a ‘mega-merger’ last year, combining with Schering-Plough. The addition, along with favourable exchange rates for Merck, added 112% of revenue to the company’s $11.4 billion total.
But the cost of acquisition dealt bottom-line profits a huge blow, and they dropped 79% on last year.
Sales of cholesterol drugs Vytorin and Zetia grew by 4% to over $1 billion whilst diabetes treatment Januvia made grew 24% to $511 million and Janumet brought in $201 million, a jump of 56%.
Sales of the cervical cancer jab Gardasil fell 11% to $233 million, representing Merck’s biggest fall.
Schering Plough’s biggest seller anti-inflammatory Remicade made $674 million, up 30 percent.
In terms of the US health reform, Merck believes that the passage of the legislation will unfavourably impact sales by approximately $170 million in 2010 and around $350 million in 2011.
Merck also faces steep generic cliffs from blood pressure drugs Cozaar and Hyzaar which went off patent in April. Collectively, they made over $3.6 billion in sales last year.
Commenting on the future, Merck’s chairman, president and chief executive Richard Clark said: “We believe our planned merger with Schering-Plough will accelerate Merck’s transformation into a global healthcare leader built for sustainable growth and success
“Together we will have a formidable pipeline, an expanded product portfolio, a broader global presence, and the best talent in the industry. The new Merck will have increased financial strength and enhanced capabilities focused on breakthrough research and development.”
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