Pfizer Makes Management Changes

Pfizer has made changes to the management of its U.S. Drug Unit. Peter Brandt has been named executive vice president of U.S. Pharmaceuticals. He reports to J. Patrick Kelly, who remains president of the unit. Mr. Brandt will take on responsibility for sales and marketing in the U.S. Mr. Kelly has taken on strategic planning, business development and other roles that had belonged to Mr. Brandt.

Mr. Kelly joined the company in 1981. After a series of marketing posts, he was made president of the U.S. Pharmaceuticals Group in 2002. Mr. Kelly was involved in the launch and marketing of some of Pfizer’s most successful products, including Lipitor, Viagra and painkiller Celebrex.

A Pfizer spokesman said, “We are redeploying a number of key executives.” A major thrust of the plan is “a more intense focus on the U.S. market because of its size and critical importance,” the spokesman said.

In response to competition from generics and branded products, Pfizer has begun cutting costs, pledging to trim $4 billion in annual spending by 2008.