Pfizer

Eastman Kodak Co. yesterday confirmed the rumors: Its pharmaceutical and health-products subsidiary, Sterling Winthrop Inc., is for sale. The announcement raises the possibility that the European operations of Sterling Winthrop, whose American research headquarters is in Montgomery County, could end up with the same French owners as the former Pennwalt Corp., now Elf Atochem North America Inc., in Center City. A German suitor for Sterling Winthrop also came into the picture.

To some township officials, the new kid on the block appears not to be a good neighbor. When Pfizer Inc. took over SmithKline Beecham's animal health research center here early last month, many township residents were optimistic that Pfizer would continue operations on the 311-acre Applebrook site on Paoli Pike, near Route 352. But late last month, Pfizer surprised East Goshen by announcing that it was considering shutting down the facility,...

Buffeted by reduced reimbursements for prescription drugs from managed-care companies, pharmacists and drugstores are seeking new sources of revenue by offering medical screenings and advice to customers. CVS Corp., the nation's second largest drugstore chain, and Pfizer Inc., the manufacturer of prescription drugs such as Viagra and the antidepressant Zoloft, have teamed up to offer CVS customers a range of basic health-care services at their neighborhood pharmacy. Marketed under the name CVS Health Connection, CVS and Pfizer opened its first local venture last week in Northeast Philadelphia and expect to have operations in six East Coast drugstores by the end of the year.

WHEN IT COMES to health care, no one should come between doctor and patient - not the government, and certainly not insurance companies. But what if it's pharmaceutical companies that are blocking you from the most effective medical care - by misleading doctors so that they prescribe drugs for the wrong purposes? Worse yet, what if the doctors are getting kickbacks, in the form of golf or resort outings, to write those prescriptions? That's just what's been happening for years throughout the pharmaceutical industry, even though it's criminal.

Three Philadelphia-area pharmaceutical companies are among at least eight reported to be weighing bids for Pfizer Inc.'s consumer division, maker of Listerine, Benadryl, Lubriderm and other products. The three are London-based GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C., whose North American headquarters are based partly in Philadelphia; Wyeth, based in Madison, N.J., with pharmaceutical headquarters in Collegeville; and Johnson & Johnson, of New Brunswick, N.J., owner of McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals in Fort Washington.

Pfizer Inc. said in a regulatory filing yesterday that it was determined to acquire Wyeth and began pursuing the rival drugmaker last June. Wyeth initially said no. In a 348-page filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Pfizer detailed the months of pursuit until the $68 billion buyout offer was approved Jan. 25. The SEC filing details the multimillion-dollar deals that Wyeth senior executives will receive in stock, stock...

Pfizer Inc., which bought rival Wyeth last month, said yesterday that it would move "a number of functions" from Wyeth's Collegeville, Montgomery County, location as Pfizer consolidated research and development at five "hub" sites. Separately yesterday, Johnson & Johnson told Pennsylvania state officials that it would lay off 174 people at its Spring House facility as it pushed forward with 8,000 global job cuts the company announced last week. Pfizer would not immediately say how many jobs would be eliminated at Collegeville - Wyeth's long-term pharmaceutical headquarters - where it employs 3,600.

As Wyeth's acquisition by Pfizer Inc. took one step closer to completion yesterday, state legislators spearheading efforts to retain jobs here said they were fairly confident many positions would remain at Wyeth's regional operations. "Representatives of both Pfizer and Wyeth have continued to assure us that we should not worry and they have continued to listen to the case that we have made for as many jobs as possible remaining in Pennsylvania," said State Sen. Andy Dinniman, a Democrat who represents parts of Chester and Montgomery Counties.

A divided U.S. Supreme Court yesterday allowed patients in Michigan to sue Pfizer Inc. over its now-withdrawn Rezulin, a drug manufactured to treat diabetes. Twenty-seven Michigan residents say they suffered injuries caused by Rezulin, a drug federal regulators approved despite liver and cardiovascular risks. In a 4-4 deadlock, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. not participating (Roberts' most recent financial disclosure report said he owned Pfizer stock), the court in effect left in place an appeals court decision favoring the patients.

The pharmaceutical industry cheered yesterday after No. 1 drugmaker Pfizer Inc. pledged to slash its huge sales force, calling it the start of disarmament in a costly commercial arms race that could save billions of dollars and give relief to pestered physicians. If Pfizer's announcement does lead to big cuts in the industry's enormous sales force, there could be major repercussions around Philadelphia, where many drug companies have marketing headquarters. Such savings would not likely translate into lower drug prices.