Pfizer Plans R&D, Manufacturing Expansion In Asia
In another indication of big pharma's expanding interest in Asia, Pfizer announced Nov. 30 that it will seek to increase the amount of R&D and manufacturing it does in that part of the world.
Speaking in Hong Kong as part of a company-sponsored Asia investors meeting, Pfizer execs said that Asia will become increasingly more relevant to the firm's operations.
"As we plan our future, we see Asia playing a significant role in terms of growth opportunities for us," Senior VP-Worldwide Investor Development & Strategy Amal Naj said.
The exec added that Pfizer's growth plans in Asia are driven in part by estimates that the Asian pharmaceutical market could reach $200 billion by 2017.
Pfizer already has a strong presence in the region. In 2005, the firm opened a major research center in Shanghai, China. In addition, Pfizer has a clinical research unit located in Singapore and a development unit co-located with the company's Japanese headquarters in Tokyo.
Earlier this year, Pfizer expanded into South Korea with plans to invest $300 million in R&D over the next five years working with local research centers. The firm brokered a deal with Novartis to co-market the hypertension treatment Exforge (amlodipine/valsartan) in that country.
In response to an audience member's question, Naj said Pfizer will also increase its manufacturing outsourcing, particularly in Asia.
"We now outsource about 15 percent of our manufacturing," he said. "Our target is to get it to about 30 percent."
Pfizer President-Global Research & Development Martin Mackay said that the firm also has increased its outsourced R&D, such as target validation - a trend he said would accelerate.
After serving as vice president, Mackay was promoted to R&D head in October, following the departure of John LaMattina ("The Pink Sheet" DAILY, Oct. 4, 2007).
"Up until this year, our drug safety [studies] ...were 95 percent in-sourced," Mackay said. "We're moving the needle on that very quickly to about a third of that outsourced."
"When I say outsourced, [this includes] the United States and Europe, but more and more in Asia, where we see" many advantages, he added.
Mackay admitted that Pfizer's pipeline is "not as rich" as he would like, but noted that the firm has 47 compounds in Phase II. Pfizer will start more Phase III studies next year than at any other point in the firm's history, he said.
The firm experienced several setbacks over the past year, notably the termination in December 2006 of its potential blockbuster cholesterol treatment torcetrapib in Phase III amid mortality concerns ("The Pink Sheet" DAILY, Dec. 3, 2006).
In October, the firm announced it was throwing in the towel on inhaled insulin Exubera amid disappointing sales. Earlier this month, Pfizer returned Exubera rights to developer Nektar Therapeutics ("The Pink Sheet" DAILY, Nov. 13, 2007).
Mackay was optimistic about Pfizer's development future, pointing to the company's five-point R&D plan, which includes "pursuing science outside our walls," as a roadmap.
One of the strategic goals is to make Pfizer a "top-tier biotherapeutics company," an idea strongly promoted by senior management since Jeff Kindler took over the CEO reins last year ("The Pink Sheet" DAILY, Sept. 27, 2006).
Mackay said Pfizer was among the top 10 biotherapeutic companies, but "needs to be a top-two biotherapeutic company, at the very least."
- Jonathan M. Block
This article is reprinted from "The Pink Sheet" DAILY – Dec. 3, 2007.
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