Pfizer’s Board of Directors has elected current President and CEO Ian Read as its new Chairman and Chief Executive Office with immediate effect.

Mr Read succeeds George Lorch in the role, who himself has been named as the Lead Independent Director of the Board.

A “deeply honoured” Mr Read thanked Mr Lorch for his services as chairman saying he had been a “valuable resource and advisor”.

“Working alongside Pfizer’s dedicated leaders and talented workforce, I remain confident in the strength of our business and of our late-stage pipeline,” said the new chair. “I believe in the future of this company and of our continued ability to deliver value to shareholders and to improve the global health and well-being of people around the world.”

In addition to Mr Read’s election, Marc Tessier-Lavigne and Helen Hobbs have also been promoted to the company’s board. However, Dr Michael Brown, a director since 1996, has notified the board of his intention to retire from his position in April 2012.

“We are pleased to welcome these two preeminent scientists to Pfizer’s Board of Directors,” said Mr Read. “Dr Tessier-Lavigne and Dr Hobbs have made extraordinary scientific contributions throughout their respective careers and will be tremendous assets to the company. The expansion of our board helps ensure that Pfizer will continue to benefit from a diversity of experience.

“We’d like to thank Dr. Brown for his service on the board and dedication to Pfizer over the past 16 years. His expertise and counsel on scientific matters in particular throughout his tenure have been invaluable to the company.”

AstraZeneca’s Crestor has not proved as effective as Pfizer’s Lipitor at preventing cholesterol build-up in one of the arteries leading to the heart, a new study has found.

The SATURN trial’s results came as a surprise after a previous study demonstrated Crestor reversed the build-up of artery plaque, but this reduction did not reach statistical significance.

The “top-line results are not the slam dunk AstraZeneca might have been hoping for,” said Mike Mitchell, an analyst at Seymour Pierce.

The new data leads to the possibility that doctors currently prescribing Crestor will switch to a generic version of Lipitor when it becomes available.

The 104-week SATURN (Study of Coronary, Atheroma by InTravascular Ultrasound: Effect of Rosuvastatin Versus AtorvastatiN) trial involved 1,300 patients, comparing a 40mg dose of Crestor against an 80mg dose of Lipitor.

Meanwhile, Pfizer’s legal battle with generics manufacturer Ranbaxy has ended with Ranbaxy now free to start selling the generic atorvastatin in November 2011.

Ian Read, President of Pfizer, said the deal with Ranbaxy was “a win-win-win because it is pro-patient, pro-competition and pro-intellectual property”.

Pfizer’s CEO Ian Read has ruled out any major mergers or acquisitions to replace the company’s falling revenue.

Annual sales are down some 60% after the loss of patent exclusivity on several key products.

But the CEO, who has been downsizing Pfizer since starting his role in December last year, told Bloomberg he is “not going to chase revenue at the destruction of capital” by selling units and buying back shares, since coming to the post in December 2010.

This shrinking style contrasts to the work of his predecessors Jeffrey Kindler, who bought Wyeth for $64bn in 2009, and Henry McKinnell, who bought Pharmacia for a similar price in 2002.

Mr Read stated that Pfizer will still look for licensing deals through partnerships with companies with treatments in mid- to late-stage testing.

Pfizer shares have climbed by approximately 14% since Mr Read took over.

Pfizer, based in New York, currently faces competition from cheaper generic medicines, led by cholesterol pill Lipitor.

Pfizer suffered a 1% reduction in revenue in Q2 after the loss of patent exclusivity for several products, most notably its cholesterol blockbuster Lipitor (atorvastatin).

Sales of the drug fell 8% to $2.59bn, but revenue still totalled $16.9bn after favourable exchange rates and the addition of King Pharmaceuticals.

Ian Read, President and CEO, says the company’s performance was “in-line with our expectations”.

The Q2 results exclude the recent sale of its Capsugel unit to KKR for $2.38 billion.

US revenues were down 9% to $6.7bn compared to the same period a year ago after the health reforms across the Atlantic cost the company $158 million. But the news was more positive as international sales were up 5%, despite a 3% operational decline.

International income represented nearly two-thirds (61%) of the company’s revenues in Q2, compared with 57% last year, after US sales dropped to 39%.

Generic alternatives of Effexor, Protonix and Zosyn in the US saw Pfizer’s Established Products unit sales drop by nearly a quarter (23%) to $631 million.

Primary Care unit revenues were driven by patent-protected products such as Lyrica, Spiriva and Pristiq, but still suffered a 10% loss compared to the year before to $586 million. Sales were impacted by the loss of exclusivity of Lipitor in Canada and Spain, plus Aricept in the US.

Revenue was also down 5% in the company’s Speciality Care unit and 3% in its Emerging Markets division following exclusivity rights for Lipitor expiring in Brazil and Mexico.

“Although results were impacted by losses of exclusivity of several key products in certain geographies, most notably in our Established Products business, I am pleased that many of our core products, primarily Lyrica, Enbrel and the Prevnar/Prevenar franchise, continued to perform well overall and the fundamentals of our business remain strong,” said Ian Read.

Sales of Lyrica (pregabalin) increased 19% to $908 million, Enbrel increased 13% outside of North America to $914 and Prevnar almost doubled its revenue (44%) to $821.

The company has now readjusted its financial expectation for 2011 increasing reported revenue up from $65.2 to $67.2 billion.

Further job cuts are expected at Pfizer as the company aims to make $1 billion of savings.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) says the pharma giant is currently sourcing its operations with job losses expected from administrative departments and possibly managerial positions.

Ian Read, CEO, told employees in a recent memo that Pfizer needs to change the way it operates to “meet its financial commitments and continue to invest where opportunities are robust”.

Pfizer has cut spending by more than $4bn since 2000 and is currently in the process of reducing costs by an additional $6bn.

According to sources close to the WSJ, bosses have been analysing operations for a number of months, and cuts are planned for later this year.

If, as expected, administrative posts are lost, the cuts would remove almost 5% of the company’s sales and administrative expenses, which cost $19.6 billion last year.

Net income increased by 10% at Pfizer in the first quarter of 2011, despite the US health reforms and competition from generic alternatives.

Revenue for Q1 was similar to last year at $16.5 billion after the addition of King Pharmaceuticals and patent-protected products in key international markets fared well.

Ian Read, President and CEO (pictured), says he is pleased with the “solid financial performance” of the pharma giant.

Pfizer is now targeting reported revenues between $62.2 billion and $64.7 billion in 2012.

For first three months of the year, US revenue decreased by 3% to $7bn compared with the same period a year ago. International turnover was up 2% to $9.5 billion, which reflected 1% operational growth and 1% favourable impact of foreign exchange.

Primary Care unit revenues reduced by 10% – approximately $590 million – after the loss of exclusivity of Lipitor in Canada and Spain, as well as the loss of exclusivity of Aricept in the US. Although sales of patent-protected products such as Lyrica increased 14% to $826 million, Pristiq rose by 17% to $129 million and Celebrex by 4% to $591 million.

Revenues increased positively in Pfizer’s Speciality Care unit after strong growth in the Prevnar/Prevenar franchise increased an impressive 248% to $996 million and as Enbrel and Zyvox also did well in the US and Japan.

Established Products unit revenues were impacted by the loss of patent protection on Effexor, Protonix and Zosyn/Tazocin, although these were offset by the addition of legacy King Products.

“With our strong base of people, platforms and in-line and pipeline compounds combined with our continuing focus on improving returns on investment, I believe we are well positioned to succeed in fixing our innovative core, which, if successful, can lead to greater value in both the near and longer-term,” said Ian Read.