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Earnings Calls: 
Pfizer Fourth Quarter Earnings Call
Author: Maclintosh Kuhlengisa
123jump.com
Last Update: 10:25 AM EST March 03 2008


The pharmaceutical company reported a 4% increase in revenues to $13.1 billion, compared with $12.6 billion the year ago quarter, despite Norvasc loss of U.S. exclusivity, which contributed to a $666 million decrease in Norvasc revenues. The firm has significantly streamlined the organization, reducing layers and increasing spans of control. It also entered into several alliances to develop new drugs.

 
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Key questions and answers from the fourth quarter earnings call conducted by Pfizer Inc. on January 23, 2008.

Timothy Anderson (Prudential Equity Group, LLC): On Lipitor, provide us an update on what the unrestricted tier 2 access is in the U.S. for the product in 2008 relative to what it was for 2007?

Ian Read: Tier-2 access in 2007 was above 65% on tier-2 access. And we expect to maintain or slightly improve that in 2008. The vast majority of it is unrestricted.

David Risinger (Merrill Lynch): What was the FX contribution to the bottom line EPS?

Frank D'Amelio: For the fourth quarter, give or take, it was about $200 million and for the year it was about $600 million.

Christopher Schott (Banc of America Securities): What is happening with Vytorin following ENHANCE?

Jeffrey Kindler: LDL was not dismissed as a surrogate. It was how you lower LDL with the issue. And clearly there is a wealth of evidence that lowering LVL with statins gives positive outcome. Lipitor has 10 landmark trials on that issue.

Jamie Rubin (Morgan Stanley): The midpoint guidance for 2008, roughly assumes flat gross margin?

Jeffrey Kindler: It was 49 to 59, roughly half of that due to FX, so that would bring you closer to 15.5%. One is we exited six manufacturing facilities in 2007. We will get the benefit, the full year benefit of that in 2008. We have also announced 12 manufacturing facility exits that are in process. We will get some benefit from that in 2008.

In terms of other things we are doing to reduce costs, we are basically expecting to lower our sourcing costs, so think about kind of the raw material sourcing costs by establishing strategic partnerships with some lower cost vendors. We have many projects underway.

Roopesh Patel (UBS): On Lipitor what's the status of the patent challenges in Canada and other key international markets?

Allen Waxman: There are two proceedings with two different generics that are ongoing at this point. We are awaiting an appellate decision on the case with Ranbaxy with respect to the enantiomer patent that has been argued.

We received a favorable decision against Ranbaxy on our crystalline form patents which holds them off the market, most likely through 2008. Apotex, we are taking an appeal on our recent unfavorable ruling on the enantiomer patent. We also have crystalline form trials against Apotex, too early to determine outcomes of those cases.

With respect internationally in Europe, almost in every market the basic patent expires after the enantiomer patent, that expires in 2011. And so thus far we have been successful in holding on to that date of expiry. In Spain, there are some cases on appeal that we are waiting outcomes on that could have an impact in that market, just too early to tell.

Scott Braunstein (JPMorgan Asset Management): Walk us through the Norvasc patent expiries throughout European and rest of the world?

Jeffrey Kindler: The Norvasc patent expiration basically is done other than three markets Canada, Japan and Italy. Japan will go in September of 2008. Italy will go in March of 2008 and Canada will go in September 2010.

Steve Scala (Cowen & Co): Can you provide additional perspective on your December 21st release relative to the additional data with regard to dalbavancin and the issue of non-inferiority trial designs?

Martin Macka: There is nothing new to disclose from December 21st. We will provide additional data to the FDA. We are working with the agency to respond to the requirements. And it is simply too early to say if we will need additional trials or in fact timing of the approval.

James Kelly (Goldman, Sachs): On Chantix, any news there on reimbursement and how the products being adopted in Europe?

Ian Read: In the U.S., we are probably talking about something like 50 million smokers as a potential target. This could segment them into four segments, probably two of them are more immediately leverageable or incentivated to look for treatments.
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