da: The New York Times
Pfizer is the world’s largest drug company. But in recent years, it has handled mergers badly, invented too few drugs and left its reputation in disrepair after two criminal cases.
Jeffrey B. Kindler, Pfizer’s chief since 2006, says the pharmaceutical giant is poised to enter a new period of growth from its $68 billion purchase of Wyeth—the largest 2009 acquisition in the nation—and, paradoxically, by dividing itself into nine semi-autonomous business units meant to diversify the company’s products.
Most of all, analysts say, Pfizer has to deliver new drugs. They question whether the company will fall into a sales trough after the November 2011 patent expiration for Lipitor, the cholesterol fighter and world’s top-selling drug.
Creating new drugs may seem an obvious goal for a drug maker. The New York-based Pfizer, however, has grown into a giant not by discovering new blockbusters but by buying three…