Hatte Pfizer für Lipitor trotz der generischen Konkurrenz ab Juni zuletzt noch steigende Absatzzahlen verkündet (13 Mrd. Umsatz nach zuvor 12 Mrd.), so heißt es jetzt, dass der Absatz von Lipitor bei Erscheinen der Generika "nicht dramatisch einbrechen" werde ("will not fall off a cliff"). Pfizer rechnet jedoch mit einem "ernsthaften Schlag" ("substantial hit"), wobei die Umsätze "nicht sofort abstürzen" sollen ("immediately plunge"). (Zitate alle unten, fett).
Beruhigend klingt das jedenfalls nicht. Pfizer äußert sich jetzt weit weniger positiv zu den Lipitor-Generika als noch im Frühjahr. Bereits zur Jahreswende hatte ich befürchtet, dass die Lipitor-Verkäufe nach Erscheinen der Generika von Zocor (Merck) im Juni und Prachavol (Bristol Myers) stark zurückgehen werden, sich also evtl. sogar halbieren. Da Lipitor mit 12 Mrd. bislang Pfizers Haupt-Umsatzbringer ist, würde dies deutlich auf die Gewinne und den Kurs durchschlagen (es sei denn, dies wäre im Kurs, der ja niedrig bewertet ist, schon enthalten - in dem Fall stiege nur Pfizers KGV).
Allein aber die Tatsache, dass Pfizer die Gefahren der generischen Konkurrenz zu Lipitor zunächst ignoriert hatte und jetzt umschwenkt, lässt nichts Gutes ahnen. Ich sehe darin den Grund für meinen Ausstieg nochmals bestätigt.
Pfizer: Lipitor sales won't fall off a cliff By Val Brickates Kennedy, MarketWatch Last Update: 4:29 PM ET May 2, 2006
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- While conceding that sales will take a substantial hit, Pfizer Inc. management said Tuesday that they do not believe Lipitor sales will immediately plunge when generic versions of similar drugs hit pharmacy shelves later this year.
"To assume that they will fall off a cliff, that's not a realistic assessment," Pfizer Vice Chairman David Shedlarz told investors Tuesday at the annual Deutsche Bank health-care conference in Boston.
"It won't be like a light switch, where you pull the switch down and all Lipitor sales go away. It'll be more like a shade," added Patrick Kelly, who heads up Pfizer's (PFE) U.S. pharmaceuticals division.
Indeed Lipitor, the world's best-selling branded prescription drug, will be in for some stiff competition this fall, when generic drugmakers vie to put out cheaper versions of two of its leading competitors.
Lipitor belongs to a class of cholesterol-moderating drugs known as statins, a group that also includes Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s (BMY) Pravachol and Merck & Co.'s (MRK) Zocor. Pravachol lost its patent protection last month, while Zocor goes off-patent in June.
The first generics makers to file with regulators to put out generic versions of the drugs will enjoy 180-day market exclusivity periods under the Hatch-Waxman Act. After that, other drugmakers are free to join the game.
Lipitor had 2005 worldwide sales of over $12 billion. While Pfizer has said that it hopes to be able to grow 2006 sales to about $13 billion, Shedlarz admitted that goal was "aggressive."
[mein Reden... (siehe Postings im Frühjahr) - A.L.]
Kelly noted recent court decisions that give at least two generics makers, and possibly a third, 180-day exclusivity periods for generic Zocor also will weigh on Lipitor sales. "With fewer entries, the price would hold up a little higher," said Kelley. He added that the real drop in generic-statin prices will be after the 180-day period....
[Die Lipitor-Bombe platzt also sozusagen mit 180 Tagen Verzögerung, weil zunächst nur zwei Zocor-Generika kommen, danach aber beliebig viele - A.L.]
... But Pfizer executives asserted that medical data supports Lipitor's therapeutic superiority, which should help it retain a substantial stake in the market. "Just becoming generic doesn't automatically make Zocor a better product," Kelly quipped.
Shedlarz said that sales of Pfizer's new products should take the sting out of lower Lipitor receipts as well. "We're going to fight hard for this product line, to grow it and grow it robustly, don't get me wrong," the executive added. "We're not giving up on Lipitor, but we also have a wealth of new product opportunities to balance out the company."
[Hört sich nach Beschwichtigung an, zumal die wenigsten der neuen Medikamente Blockbuster-Potential haben - A.L.]
Pfizer will have rolled out 10 new products during the 2005-06 timeframe, according to Shedlarz, including eagerly anticipated drugs such as inhaled insulin, the oncology drug Sutent and indiplon, a sleep aid.
"This is not a one-product company," he said.
[No, but it basically depends on one product: Lipitor - A.L.]
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