Pfizer To Cut 800 Research Positions

Pfizer plans to eliminate as many as 800 research positions at its labs around the world as a result of industry pressures that are creating a need to cut spending. Pfizer is facing the 2011 patent expiration of cholesterol drug Lipitor, which accounts for a quarter of Pfizer’s roughly $48 billion annual revenue. By year end, the company expects to have cut 5% to 8% of its 10,000 research jobs, according to Dr. Martin Mackay, head of Pfizer’s R&D.

The research cuts impact the company’s labs responsible for discovering new drugs. Pfizer has the industry’s R&D budget at $7.5 billion, but has had several high-profile failures in the past two years, including the cancellation of a drug meant to replace much of the revenue Lipitor will soon lose. “Nobody in the industry is happy with our productivity,” stated Dr. Mackay in a Wall Street Journal interview. He said the R&D layoffs are part of a continuing reorganization designed to focus Pfizer’s research work on treatments with the best chances of reaching the market.

Pfizer’s chief executive officer, Jeffrey Kindler, recently said that he was willing to consider a big acquisition to offset the pending loss of Lipitor revenue. Prior to the research layoffs, Pfizer had cut 14,600 jobs since January 2007.