Boston, MA 06/02/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) has promised to move on after failing to win the nod of the board of directors of Astrazeneca Plc (ADR) (NYSE:AZN) for a tie-up deal. Although the company still has an opportunity to make another bid for Astrazeneca after six months, according to the U.K. Takeover Code, Pfizer would not speculate about whether it would make another bid when a window of opportunity shows up.
However, it is clear now that the company has other plans in the meantime to support its revenue growth. Although the company faces potential revenue impact because of loss of market exclusivity on some of its bestselling drugs, Pfizer hailed its rich pipeline and believes it can avoid revenue troubles if its experimental drugs win market approval.
In particular, Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) intends to seek approval for a promising breast-cancer drug that has the potential of attracting big sales. According analysts’ estimates, the drug could fetch up to $3 billion in incremental revenue for Pfizer. However, the challenge is that Eli Lilly and Co (NYSE:LLY) and Novartis AG (ADR) (NYSE:NVS) are also working on rival therapies and that means that the success of the rivals might eat into the sales of Pfizer’s breast-cancer drug.
Generic competition
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s desperate efforts to seal a deal with AstraZeneca were linked to revenue-loss fears. The company’s top-selling drug Celebrex, a pain treatment, is up for competition against cheap generic drugs and the company could lose billions of dollars that it has known from the sale of the drug. Such a development could have a devastating impact on its revenue.
However, in the absence of a deal with Astrazeneca, Pfizer will look into other deals to strengthen its core areas that include cancer, vaccines, pain, heart disease and inflammation. According to Pfizer CEO Ian Read, the company will look into deals of all sizes to ensure that revenue and profits are not only secured but also improved.
Splitting the business
Split up of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) is something that the management is also considering as it seeks to maximize shareholder value. However, the prospective businesses for splitting will still be nurtured until they come to the levels where they can stand alone.
