Pfizer plans to close its 50-year old Thane facility in September

Pfizer, a Rs. 1,800 crore plus pharma MNC after merging Wyeth, has decided to shut down its over 50 years Thane facility from September 16, 2015. The decision to close the site is based on an assessment its long term viability and its ability to achieve the needed production. There has practically been no production activity at this plant since 2013, and the closure will not impact the supply of any of our medicines to patients.

The company had offered a generous voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to the workmen at this site last year, upon their request. This was taken up by as many as 132 of the 212 workmen. The remaining 80 workmen have continued to receive full wages, despite plant inactivity. As a part of the closure process, the company will honour its obligations towards requisite compensation, as mandated by law, for the remaining workmen. We are grateful for the contribution of the workmen and colleagues and will ensure that they are treated with fairness and respect.

Pfizer remains committed to providing high quality medicines to our patients and customers in India.

Pfizer to acquire Hospira for $17 billion

US based pharma major Pfizer will acquire Hospira - the world’s leading provider of injectable drugs, infusion technologies and biosimilars - for a total enterprise value of approximately $17 billion. Ian Read, chairman and chief executive officer, Pfizer, said, “Hospira’s business aligns well with our new commercial structure and is an excellent strategic fit for our global established pharmaceutical (GEP) business, which will benefit from a significantly enhanced product portfolio in growing markets. Coupled with Pfizer’s global reach, Hospira is expected to drive greater sustainability for our global established pharmaceutical business over the long term."

This strategically complementary combination will add a growing revenue stream and a platform for growth for Pfizer’s GEP business. The expanded portfolio of sterile injectable pharmaceuticals - composed of Hospira’s broad generic sterile injectables product line, including acute care and oncology injectables, with a number of differentiated presentations, as well as its biosimilars portfolio, combined with GEP’s branded sterile injectables, including anti-infectives, anti-inflammatories and cytotoxics - will create a leading global sterile injectables business.

Both sterile injectables and biosimilars are large and growing categories. The global marketplace value for generic sterile injectables is estimated to be $70 billion in 2020. The global marketplace for biosimilars is estimated to be approximately $20 billion in 2020.

The combination also reinforces GEP’s growth strategy to build a broad portfolio of biosimilars in Pfizer’s therapeutic areas of strength through the addition of Hospira’s portfolio that includes several marketed biosimilars. Pfizer will also use its existing commercial capabilities, global scale, scientific expertise and world class development capabilities to significantly expand the reach of Hospira’s products, which are currently distributed primarily in the US, to Europe and key emerging markets, where GEP has a significant presence.

US FDA grants fast track status to Pfizer’s clostridium

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation to the Pfizer’s investigational Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) vaccine candidate (PF-06425090). Currently in phase 2 clinical development, the vaccine candidate is designed to prevent C. difficile-associated disease, which can include life-threatening diarrhoea and pseudomembranous colitis.




“C. difficile is a growing, difficult-to-treat healthcare-associated infection,” said Dr. Emilio Emini, senior vice president of vaccine research and development for Pfizer. “No vaccine is currently available to prevent the infection-associated disease. In the United States alone, there are approximately 250,000 cases of C. difficile-associated disease, resulting in approximately 14,000 deaths each year.”

Clostridium difficile (klos-TRID-e-um dif-uh-SEEL), often called C. difficile, is the most frequent cause of healthcare-associated infections. C. difficile is a spore-forming, Gram-positive anaerobic bacillus that produces two exotoxins: toxin A and toxin B. It is a common cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea (AAD) and accounts for 15-25 per cent of all episodes of AAD.
FDA’s Fast Track approach is a process designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of new drugs and vaccines intended to treat or prevent serious conditions and address an unmet medical need.

Generic Celebrex patent litigation with Pfizer

Under the terms of the agreement, Mylan will begin selling product at the earliest market formation, however in any case not later than December 2014. All other terms and conditions of the settlement and license agreement are confidential, and the agreement itself is subject to review by the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.

MNC's - Images

GSK is not the only MNC which has been found to be indulging in such unethical and illegal activities in recent years. In mid 2011. Pfizer agreed to pay $14.5 million to the US government to resolve False Claims Act allegations related to its marketing of the drug, Detrol. This was the last of the 10 whistleblower suits filed in the District of Massachusetts and two other districts against the company beginning in 2003.

The other nine suits against Pfizer including the one on painkiller, Bextra, were settled or dismissed in 2009 as part of the US government’s global resolution with Pfizer, under which the company agreed to pay $2.3 billion to resolve civil claims and criminal charges regarding a few other drugs. Eli Lilly and Abbott were also reportedly involved in illegal marketing of certain drugs and agreed to make payments to the US government in the recent past.


Apart from the financial implications caused by the government actions, the MNCs have also suffered major dents to their credibility after these incidents. In India, a large number of essential drugs are being imported and sold by MNCs at very high prices as the country has not yet imposed any control on prices of patented drugs. Considering good track record of most MNCs in discovering modern drugs for several human ailments in the past should they adopt such a disgraceful path for maintaining high profits? This is a question to be pondered by the top managements and shareholders of these corporations.