Pfizer to acquire Wyeth for US$68bn

US drugmaker Pfizer is to buy rival Wyeth in a deal worth US$68bn (€51bn; £50bn).

The merger will help Pfizer protect itself from a fall in revenues when US patent exclusivity for its cholesterol treatment Lipitor (atorvastatin) expires in 2011. It will also provide Pfizer with access to Wyeth’s biologics and vaccines business.

Pfizer also makes Viagra, while Wyeth produces the antidepressant Effexor XR, the Prevnar pneumococcal vaccine for infants, and rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel.

Wyeth faces losing patent protection for Effexor XR next year.

Datamonitor said the transaction would create a prescription pharmaceutical company of ‘unprecedented industry scale’, forecasting that sales of the combined entity would reach more than US$54bn by 2013. However, the deal could also lead to job losses of nearly 20,000 from a combined workforce of 130,000.

Pfizer said in its financial results for 2008 that it would cut 10% of staff across sales, manufacturing, r&d and administration in order to reduce costs. This programme will also include closing at least five manufacturing sites.

The company reported a 90% fall in profit to US$266m in the fourth quarter because of a US$2.3bn legal settlement.

‘The combination of Pfizer and Wyeth provides a powerful opportunity to transform our industry,’ said Pfizer chairman and chief executive Jeffrey Kindler. ‘The new company will be an industry leader in human, animal and consumer health.’

The combined company will offer a broad range of products in key therapeutic areas such as cardiovascular, oncology, women’s health, central nervous system and infectious diseases. It will have a diverse portfolio of 17 products.