Pfizer Ends Torcetrapib Development

Pfizer has stopped development of its cholesterol drug torcetrapib, due to safety concerns. According to the company, an independent safety board recommended the discontinuation of the clinical trial, Illuminate, because of an imbalance of mortality and cardiovascular events. Pfizer immediately terminated the entire development program for the drug. The product, which raises levels of “good” HDL cholesterol, was expected to be a major growth driver for the company, with sales potentially rivaling those of Lipitor, which will likely face generic competition by 2011.

“We believed that the study was coming along as expected, and this new information was totally unexpected and disappointing, given the potential benefits of this drug,” said Dr. Philip Barter, chairman of the steering committee overseeing the Illuminate study and director of the Heart Research Institute in Australia.

Following the discontinuation of Torcetrapib, Pfizer’s chief executive officer, Jeffrey Kindler, affirmed the financial forecast he gave recently, emphasizing the company’s diverse portfolio of new drugs in the pipeline and the company’s financial strength. “With regard to our business, we understand the challenge that this represents and we will respond quickly and aggressively to it. It is important to put this information in the context of both our commitment to transform Pfizer and our overall product and financial strength,” Mr. Kindler said.