(Reuters) - A U.S. court ruled invalid a patent covering Pfizer Inc's blockbuster Celebrex painkiller, the drugmaker said, giving generic rivals an earlier U.S. entry that analysts estimated could cost the company $3 billion in revenue by the end of 2015. Pfizer shares closed down 1.4 percent on the New York Stock Exchange. Pfizer said it would appeal the ruling, made by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, which invalidated a patent covering how Celebrex is administered to treat osteoarthritis. Celebrex has annual global sales of about $3 billion, including $2 billion in the United States. It is the fourth-biggest product for Pfizer, which has total annual company sales of about $52 billion. Pfizer, in its full-year 2014 profit forecast, had assumed Celebrex would maintain its U.S. marketing exclusivity through December 2, 2015 based on the so-called method of use patent, Morningstar analyst Damien Conover said. He said the court's decision, if not overturned on appeal, could cost Pfizer $1 billion in revenues this year and $2 billion next year. Conover said he had been surprised by Pfizer's confidence in the method of use patent, because they are rarely upheld by U.S. courts. The drug's basic chemical patent lapses on May 30, 2014, and generic companies including Teva Pharmaceuticals Inc and Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc have sought approval to sell their cheaper versions at that point. "It seems likely that odds are in favor of generics launching early," Sanford Bernstein analyst Tim Anderson said in a research note. (Reporting By Vrinda Manocha in Bangalore and Ransdell Pierson in New York; Editing by Joyjeet Das and Andrew Hay)
Here come the layoffs. I don't think they can buy their way out of this one. Think of all the savings to the healthcare system when this goes generic. Pfizer has made its Billions in Profits. Let's move on with generic Celebrex
We all need to thank that CEO from Pharmacia for agreeing to partner with us, the "praying mantis" of the business world. As Warner Lambert and others found out, once we co-promote with ya, we're gonna EAT ya. Celebrex has given us multiple billions of dollars over the last 15 years. Losing it's sales means that we'll have to trim some more fat. Time for Ian to call in ZS & Associates. Snip snip.
Do you work for Mercer, BCG, or ZS? If not, go away, cuz we don't need to hear the opinion of one more detail rep on anything other than how to fake "detail only " signatures.
1 billion in losses this year and 2 billion projected next year? Are you kidding me? They're gonna cut and cut deep! Hold on to your hats folks cuz its gonna be a wild and crazy ride ! I predict December restructure announcement.
Yep, the Pfizer way. Can't do it ourselves, buy someone else's. Pfizer r&d can't find their asses w/o a gps and a flashlight. Now it comes time to pay the piper.....Pfizer is on a downward spiral and I'm near retirement. Good riddance to an evil, shitty company built on other's sweat and expertise.
To the previous poster: WELL SAID!! I was laid off in 2009, just a few years before full retirement. I got hired by another company and in 2013, I made more that my 20 plus years with Pfizer. There are some good companies STILL existing out there. Do your due diligence to find one of them. Good Luck!!