Let us review some of the facts for Pfizer since the recall of Vioxx by Merck in September of 2004: (Related article: Merck's flawed Vioxx recall strategy)
- Net income in Q1/2005 dropped to just $301 MM compared to $3.3 billion in Q3/2004.
- The stock has rebounded to ~ $27 since trading in the $24-25 range in January 2005.
- The company was forced to recall Bextra and a black-box warning has been added to Celebrex.
- The company has received warnings for misleading advertisements for Celebrex, Bextra, and Levitra.
- There is more trouble for its drug portfolio.
So what does Hank McKinnell, the company CEO, think how Pfizer is doing? "Pfizer continues to deliver steady performance." In other words, Pfizer is in denial about its problems and merely slashing costs the way Pfizer is doing is not necessarily the best strategy for Pfizer. (Related article: Celebrex and Bextra problems hurt Pfizer)
As I have pointed out in the past, Pfizer got to this point for lacking a clear strategy for drug recalls. It mishandled the Celebrex and Bextra controversy by taking too much risk. Not surprisingly enough, Bextra is unlikely to return and Celebrex will continue to be a suspicious drug any may need to be recalled as well as more data emerges.
I have also discussed in the past Pfizer's anti-customer stance. It is one company that continues its relentless attack on its American customers. In fact the company is very proud of its leadership role in "the pharmaceutical industry in addressing counterfeiting and the sale of illegal and unapproved drugs," an euphemism for prescription drugs imported from Canada. Pfizer, which initially attracted a lot of bad press for aggressively supporting privatization of Social Security, pulled out after intense opposition from many organizations. (Related article: How to avoid distractions in business?)
The question is Why is Pfizer so interested in non-value adding activities like this and ignores drug development and safety. Maybe it is time for a change of leadership at Pfizer. (Related article: How to be a leader and provide vision to the organization?)
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