Pfizer
Pfizer Inc. is a global pharmaceutical company, with headquarters in New York, New York, USA. They make the number-one selling drug Lipitor (atorvastatin, used to lower blood cholesterol); the oral antifungal medication Diflucan (fluconazole), the long-acting antibiotic Zithromax (azithromycin) and the well-known impotence drug Viagra (sildenafil). Its shares, traded on the New York Stock Exchange, were made a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average on April 8, 2004.
History
It is named after chemist Charles Pfizer (1824-1906), who launched his chemicals business from a building in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in 1849. Here, he produced an antiparasitic called santonin. This was an immediate success, although it was the production of citric acid that really kick started Pfizer's growth in the 1880s.
By 1910, sales totalled nearly $3 million, and Pfizer became established as an expert in fermentation technology. These skills were applied to the mass production of penicillin during the Second World War, in response to an appeal from the US Government. The antiseptic was urgently needed to treat injured Allied soldiers, and it soon became known as "the miracle drug." In fact, most of the penicillin that went ashore with the troops on D-Day was made by Pfizer.
By the 1950s, Pfizer was established in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom.
In 2000, Pfizer merged with Warner-Lambert in order to acquire Lipitor. Warner-Lambert was based in Morris Plains, New Jersey where their former headquarters has now become a major base of operations for Pfizer. The Morris Plains facility is mostly used for administrative purposes. Most of Pfizer's research is done in Groton, Connecticut and Sandwich, England.
In 2002, Pfizer merged with competitor Pharmacia.
Medical discount programs
Recently, Pfizer, the world's largest research based pharmaceutical company, announced a plan to help uninsured Americans pay for Pfizer's prescription drugs by offering steep discounts. Uninsured families earning under $45,000 and uninsured singles making less than $31,000 will save approximately 37% off the retail price. Uninsured families/people making more then $45,000 and $31,000 respectivly, will save approximately 15%.
Bjork-Shiley heart valve
Pfizer purchased Shiley in 1979 at the onset of its Convexo-Concave valve ordeal, involving the Bjork-Shiley heart valve. Approximately 500 people died when defective valves failed and, in 1994, the United States ruled against Pfizer for ~$200,000,000.
Patients' Rights Legislation
Pfizer proposed a ban on all lawsuits against manufacturers of body implant parts which was proposed in the United States Congress as part of the Groton, Connecticut,
Sandwich, England,
Tokyo, Japan,
Amboise, France,
La Jolla, California,
Cambridge, Massachusetts,
Ann Arbor, Michigan
See also
