Pfizer Inc. (PFE.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) raised its 2006 profit forecast on Thursday and said its roster of experimental drugs in late-stage testing could triple by 2009.
The maker of cholesterol fighter Lipitor and impotence treatment Viagra said it now expects a 2006 profit of at least $2.05 per share, after an earlier forecast of about $2.00.
Pfizer, which has vowed to become a major player in the cancer field, said it planned to begin 10 late-stage trials of cancer treatments through 2008.
The number of Pfizer's drugs currently in late-stage testing should produce four new products a year by 2011, the company said -- including treatments for cancer, clogged arteries, obesity, diabetes and blood clots.
Pfizer said it hoped by the second half of 2007 to seek U.S. approval for the most important product in its pipeline, a drug called torcetrapib that raises levels of "good" HDL cholesterol.
The company said it expects by 2010 to secure two new products a year from acquisitions, partnerships or licensing deals with other drugmakers.
"For me, it's a positive surprise," Prudential analyst Tim Anderson said of the raised profit forecast, which helped lift Pfizer shares 1.6 percent.
But the earnings growth is expected to come largely through continued aggressive cost cutting as the New York-based company struggles with competition from generic forms of its medicines and a dearth of important new product launches.
Just this week, Pfizer said it would cut its U.S. sales force by 20 percent, or 2,200 jobs.
Hundreds of analysts and money managers attended Thursday's event at Pfizer's research facilities in Groton, Connecticut, at which recently appointed Chief Executive Jeffrey Kindler touted its pipeline of experimental drugs as a reason for continuing to have faith in the drugmaker.
Pfizer shares have plunged in recent years due to declining profit growth and the inability of the company's $7 billion-a-year research program to bear impressive fruit -- main reasons Kindler was chosen in July to replace longtime CEO Hank McKinnell.
SIGHTS ON OBESITY, MELANOMA
Company officials said two of its experimental obesity drugs significantly reduced body weight at magnitudes comparable to Sanofi-Aventis' (SASY.PA: Quote , Profile , Research ) potent drug, Acomplia.
One medicine called CP-675,206 has the potential to become the new "standard of care" for melanoma, Pfizer said, with overall survival of patients in early-stage trials of 16.5 months compared with 6 months to 9 months for those taking standard treatments.
The updated 2006 forecast, which it said follows "a favorable trend in revenues and lower costs in the fourth quarter," translates into profit growth of at least 6.2 percent this year.
It is at least 4 cents per share above analysts' average profit view, as compiled by Reuters Estimates.
The world's No. 1 drugmaker said it still expects earnings per share, excluding special items, to grow, on average, at high-single-digit percentage rates in 2007 and 2008.
"Based on our pipeline, our ambition is to create a company with a more diversified product portfolio, with a heavy emphasis in the therapeutic areas offering the greatest medical promise and commercial potential," Kindler said.
Pfizer also announced at the meeting a five-year research collaboration with the Scripps Research Institute to evaluate new high-tech methods of attacking diseases such as cancer, diabetes and mental illness.
"The collaboration will involve the development of new tests to rapidly validate approaches," Pfizer said.
Pfizer shares rose 42 cents to close at $27.49 on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, amid a slight decline for the drug sector.
Miller Tabak analyst Les Funtleyder said shares were lifted by a combination of the better profit forecast and Pfizer's effort to be more forthcoming with investors.
"I think there was a lack-of-visibility discount on the stock," Funtleyder said. Investors have been critical of Pfizer for failing to fully inform Wall Street about negative trends. |
