Pfizer's Q1 profit hit by declining sales of Lipitor, Zyrtec and Camptosar

Pfizer reported a lower first-quarter profit of US$2.7bn, a fall of 2% compared with the same period in 2008, as sales declined for Lipitor owing to generic competition and for Zyrtec and Camptosar after losing US exclusivity.

Sales were $10.9bn, a decrease of 8%. Foreign exchange rates also affected the figures.

By contrast, Speciality Care revenues for the first quarter increased by 7% to $1.5bn, primarily driven by the "solid" operational performance in both the US and international markets from products including Xalatan, Zyvox, Vfend and Revatio.

"During the quarter, we continued our ongoing efforts to reshape our operating model, made substantial progress in planning for the Wyeth integration, and faced a challenging and dynamic economic and competitive environment," said Jeff Kindler, chairman and chief executive.

The company cut 1,650 jobs at the end of the first quarter of 2009 taking its total workforce to 80,250, as well as closing manufacturing and r&d sites.

"We remain on track to deliver on our full-year 2009 guidance for revenues," added Kindler. "We continue to lay the groundwork to increase long-term shareholder value through the pending combination with Wyeth.

"Our recent announcement on the planned leadership and organisational structure for the company's combined research and commercial operations demonstrates our intention to advance strong scientific capabilities and to retain top scientific and commercial talent from both organisations as we build the world's premier biopharmaceutical company."