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Pfizer to Can 800 Researchers

Company must cut R&D spending ahead of Lipitor patent expiration

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 13, 2009 12:19 PM CST

(Newser) – Pfizer will eliminate the jobs of up to 800 researchers in 2009, starting today, the Wall Street Journal reports. The pharmaceutical giant is attempting to cut costs ahead of a $30 billion reduction in revenue expected in 2011 when its patent on the popular cholesterol drug Lipitor expires. But the cuts signal a larger rethinking of pharmaceutical R&D.

While discovering new medications is still the company’s chief priority, large firms such as Pfizer can buy drugs developed by smaller companies—or the companies themselves. "R&D is still the heart and soul of a pharmaceutical company, but it doesn't always have to express itself as a company's own R&D, and that's what I'm seeing more and more," said a Pfizer lab director who was let go last year.

Forty-milligram tablets of the drug Lipitor are photographed in Glen Rock, NJ, in a file photo from Nov. 15, 2005. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)

A Pfizer logo is seen on a sign outside an entrance to its facility January 22, 2004 in Skokie, Illinois. (Getty Images)

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Pfizer to Can 800 Researchers

Company must cut R&D spending ahead of Lipitor patent expiration

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Dangerous Counterfeit Cancer Drug Found in US

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US to Big Pharma: Disclose What You Pay Docs

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As Lipitor Patent Expires, Pfizer Fights to Keep Users

Cholesterol drug's price should be coming down soon

Pfizer Hopes to Sell Lipitor Over the Counter

But FDA is leery about letting people use statins on their own

Global Patent Pool Scores 4 New AIDS Drugs

It's a major step to benefit poor nations battling disease

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Pfizer to Can 800 Researchers

Company must cut R&D spending ahead of Lipitor patent expiration

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

layoffs • pharmaceutical companies • drug companies • Pfizer • research • generic drugs • Lipitor • pharmaceutical industry

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Dangerous Counterfeit Cancer Drug Found in US

Fake Avastin missing active ingredient

US to Big Pharma: Disclose What You Pay Docs

New rules aim to increase transparency

As Lipitor Patent Expires, Pfizer Fights to Keep Users

Cholesterol drug's price should be coming down soon

Pfizer Hopes to Sell Lipitor Over the Counter

But FDA is leery about letting people use statins on their own

Global Patent Pool Scores 4 New AIDS Drugs

It's a major step to benefit poor nations battling disease

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?