Lipitor losses continue to hit Pfizer

Pfizer continued to suffer from generic exposure on its former cholesterol blockbuster Lipitor in Q1 2012 after overall sales and earnings both dropped.

Reported revenues fell 7% to $15.4bn and net income decreased by nearly a fifth (19%) after sales of Lipitor fell by almost half (42%) to just under $1.4 billion.

Ian Read, Pfizer Chairman and CEO, said he was “pleased” with the results after witnessing growth in “certain brands” and “key geographies”.

Biopharmaceutical sales decreased 8% to just over $13bn as revenue for Lipitor in the US dropped by nearly three-quarters (71%) to $383 million.

Sales of Prevenar 13 dropped by 6% to $941m, Xalatan fell by 42% to $227m with Novasc also recording a fall in revenue by 6%, compared to the same period last year.

The news was better for Lyrica up 16% to $955m, whilst Enbrel earned $899 million outside the US and Viagra generated a 6% rise in sales to earn $496m.

As a result of the losses, Pfizer has adjusted its revenue guidance for the full year from $60.5-$62.5 billion to $58-$60 billion.

Frank D’Amelio, Chief Financial Officer, said the adjustment reflects Pfizer’s recent $11.58 deal with Nestlé for its nutrition business. He commented: “We remain on-track to finalise a strategic decision for our Animal Health business this year and continue to expect that any separation of that business will occur between July 2012 and July 2013.

“Further, this quarter we continued to prudently allocate our capital by returning over $3.3 billion to our shareholders in first-quarter 2012, through $1.6 billion in dividends and $1.7 billion from the repurchase of 77 million shares.”