Sales in this quarter fell to $15.06 billion from $16.49 billion in the year ago quarter. The analysts estimated $14.87 billion for the quarter. In order to minimize the effect of declined revenues, Pfizer has made efforts to reduce manufacturing costs.
The earnings report of Pfizer is among the favorable ones released by the pharmaceutical industry for Q2. Merck also reported handsome profits, despite problems like patent expirations and rising competition from new drug companies. Like Merck, Pfizer fought off generic replacements of its anticholesterol drug, Liptior, for as long as it could. The company formulated patient prescription plans, where discount crads were issued to ensure that patient stuck to Pfizer’s medicines. But these plans eventually lost their ability to curb competition, and Pfizer experienced a huge decline in sales of Liptior in the middle of 2011. The exclusivity patent for Liptior also expired in November 2011 in the US.
Showcase Drugs for this Quarter
The major revenue generating drugs for this quarter were Lyrica, a medicine for neural pain relief, which increased 14 percent to $1.04 billion. Enbrel, an injectible for rheumatoid arthritis, made $988 million, while Prevnar, vaccine for meningitis, rose 12 percent to $916 million.
In-trial Drugs
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) is expecting approval for its drug called Tofacitinib, by mid of August, from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The drug is a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, and will supposedly increase competition for Abbott Laboratories, (NYSE:ABT) Humira. Abbott also reported quarterly earnings earlier this month with an EPS of 123 cents.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) has seen rejections on two of its in-trial drugs; Bapineuzumab, treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, failed to go past Phase 1 of clinical trials. The drug was manufactured in partnership with Johnson and Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). A blood thinner, Eliquis, failed to recieve clearence for post-market clinical trial by FDA. Eliquis was made in partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY).
Both Johnson and Johnson and Bristol-Myers have reported earnings for Q2 2012; JNJ reported EPS of 130 cents for Q2 2012, the company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis, while BMY showed a major slump in profits, with an EPS of 38 cents which is huge decline from52 cents per share reported for Q2 2011.
Pfizer has announced its intention to sell off as much as 20 percent of its animal-health arm in an IPO by mid August. In its quarterly report, it reconfirmed its intention to maintain annual EPS between $2.14 to $2.24, and revenues between $58.0 to $60.0 billion. Share price is up by 3% today, trading at $24.44 presently.
