With Viagra and Lyrica fading, analysts downgrade Pfizer due to mounting challenges
Having failed twice to complete an inversion in recent years, Pfizer is a bit of a precarious position. On Friday, the firm downgraded its rating for the pharma giant, citing a few weak points in its business going forward. ED drug Viagra is coming off patent later this year, while nerve pain treatment Lyrica will follow at the end of next year. Sales for blockbuster pneumococcal vaccine Prevnar 13 are on a slide, and breast cancer med Ibrance’s growth is slowing. Together, Viagra and Lyrica brought in $4.2 billion in the U.S. last year. Knowing all of this, Pfizer has made moves to “boost its inorganic growth” through takeouts of Anacor and Medivation, but drugs brought in from those moves won’t offset existing problems, according to Credit Suisse.
Corning plans $500M pharma glass project that Trump announced
U.S. manufacturer Corning said it is time the pharmaceutical industry has new, more durable glass for its new injected medicines, and with input and commitments from Pfizer and Merck & Co., it intends to produce it in the U.S. Its plan to make an initial investment of $500 million and hire 1,000 employees was made by President Trump at the White House as part of his “Made in America” events this week. “This initiative will bring a key industry to our shores which for too long has been dominated by foreign countries,” Trump said, explaining that 98% of the industry is currently overseas. That investment includes expanding Corning facilities in Corning, New York, and Vineland, New Jersey, and building a new manufacturing plant at a yet to be disclosed location in the Southeast. Eventually, Corning could invest up to $4 billion and hire up to 4,000 new employees, it said Thursday.
