How many partners does Pfizer have?
In common with other pharmaceutical companies Pfizer does not disclose the exact number of partners it has but in its 2005 financial results Pfizer declared that it had more than 1,000 alliances across the entire spectrum of the discovery, development and commercialization process. In its 2008 financial report the company reported that ‘We have more than 400 alliances across the entire spectrum of the discovery, development and commercialization process’. So it may be that the company has been trimming its portfolio of alliances.
What income does Pfizer generate from partnerships?
Each year Pfizer reports its partnership revenues in its annual report and its 10K. In 2008 the company declared partnership-derived income of $2.25 billion, 5% of pharmaceutical revenues. This is up from $759 billion in 2003, just 2% of pharmaceutical revenues.
| $ million | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 |
| Pharmaceutical revenues |
44,174 | 44,424 | 45,083 | 44,284 | 46,133 | 39,425 |
| Partnership revenues |
2,251 | 1,789 | 1,374 | 1,065 | 721 | 759 |
| % total revenues | 5% | 4% | 3% | 2% | 2% | 2% |
What does Pfizer spend on alliances?
Total spending on strategic alliances was reported by Christopher Slavinsky, Director in Pfizer’s Worldwide Strategy and Business Development Division in the Strategic Alliance Department, in a presentation to the 2008 Illinois Biz/Bio Conference ‘to be more than $1.4 billion in the last four years’.
Where does Pfizer source its partners?
Pfizer has reported that 95% of its deals come from scientists: networking with the scientific community, attending scientific meetings and monitoring scientific and patent literature. It sources 4% of deals from unsolicited non-confidential disclosures from third parties and just 1% from attending venture capital meetings and biotechnology conferences.
Who are Pfizer’s partners?
Obviously generating a complete list of Pfizer’s partners would be a time-consuming task but the company has, at one time or another, listed the following companies as partners. Please note that some of these partnerships may have subsequently terminated.
Abgenix, ActivX, Adolor, Affinium, AGY, Alza, Apocell, Archemix, Arity, Atrix, Bayer, Bend, BioImages, Biotica, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celldex, Cerep, Chondrogene, Chromos, Codexis, Coley, Cytos, Daiichi, Definiens, Deltagen, Direvo, Eidogen-Sertanty, Eisai, Elan, Encysive, Evotec, Eyetech, FivePrime, Formulatrix, Foster Miller, Freie University, GD Searle, GE/Amersham, GeneLogic, Genentech, Genstruct, GHI, Guilford, Hydra, Icagen, iCardiac, Incyte, Insite, Isis, Kings Pain Centre, Kosan, Lifespan, Ligand, Lilly, Lonza, Medarex, Medivation, Melior, Merck KGaA, Meridica, Metabolex, MIICRO, MIT, MorphoSys, Neurion, NicOx, Novartis, Noxxon, Odyssey Thera, Oxford Biosensors, PA Auto/Eng, Peakdale Mol, Perlegen/NIH, Pliva, ProModel, Prosidion, Quark, Quorex, Renovis, Rigel, Sangamo, Schwarz Pharma, Scil, Scripps, Serono, Sigma Tau, SourceMDX, Tacere, Taisho, TheraTech, TransTech, UCB, University of Buffalo, University of Cambridge, University of Dundee, University of Pittsburgh, University of Rochester, Ventaira, Vicuron, Virologic, Virtual Scopics, Wake Forest, Warner Lambert, Washington University, Xenogen, Xenon, Xenoport, Xoma, Yale, Ypsomed.
What collaborations has Pfizer entered into over the past couple of years?
Pfizer has announced the following important collaborations in its financial returns:
- On April 16, 2009, Pfizer announced that it had entered into an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline to create a new company focused solely on research, development and commercialisation of HIV medicines. Pfizer and GSK will contribute product and pipeline assets to the new company. The new company will have a product portfolio of 11 marketed products, including GSK’s Combivir and Kivexa products and Pfizers Selzentry/Celsentri (maraviroc) product. The company will have a pipeline of six innovative and targeted medicines, including four compounds in Phase 2 development. The new company will contract R&D and manufacturing services directly from GSK and Pfizer and will also enter into a new research alliance agreement with GSK and Pfizer. Under this new alliance, the new company will invest in Pfizer and GSK’s programs for discovery research and development into HIV medicines. The new company will have exclusive rights of first negotiation in relation to any new HIV-related medicines developed by either GSK or Pfizer. Pfizer will initially hold a 15% equity interest in the new company, and GSK will hold an 85% equity interest. The equity interests will be adjusted in the event that specified sales and regulatory milestones are achieved. Pfizer’s equity interest in the new company could vary from 9% to 30.5%, and GSK’s equity interest in the new company could vary from 69.5% to 91%, depending upon the milestones achieved with respect to the original pipeline assets contributed by Pfizer and by GSK to the new company.
- In the first quarter of 2009, Pfizer entered into a five-year agreement with Bausch & Lomb to co-promote prescription pharmaceuticals in the US for the treatment of ophthalmic conditions.
- In December 2008, Pfizer entered into an agreement with Auxilium Pharmaceuticals to develop, commercialise and supply Xiaflex, a biologic for the treatment of Dupuytren’s contracture and Peyronie’s disease. Under the collaboration agreement with Auxilium, Pfizer will receive exclusive rights to commercialise Xiaflex in the European Union and 19 other European and Eurasian countries. Under the agreement with Auxiliium, it made an up-front payment of $75 million, which is included in research and development expenses. It may also make additional payments to Auxilium of up to $410 million based upon regulatory and commercialisation milestones, as well as additional milestone payments based upon the successful commercialisation of the product.
- In September 2008, Pfizer announced an agreement with Medivation to develop and commercialise Dimebon, Medivation’s investigational drug for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and Huntington’s disease. Following the expiration of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, the agreement went into effect in October 2008. Dimebon currently is being evaluated in a Phase 3 trial in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease. Under the collaboration agreement with Medivation, it made an up-front payment of $225 million, which is included in research and development expenses. It may also make additional payments of up to $500 million based upon development and regulatory milestones, as well as additional milestone payments based upon the successful commercialisation of the product.
- In the second quarter of 2008, Pfizer entered into an agreement with a subsidiary of Celldex for an exclusive worldwide license to CDX-110, an experimental therapeutic vaccine in Phase 2 development for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme, and exclusive rights to the use of EGFRvIII vaccines in other potential indications. Under the license and development agreement, an up-front payment was made. Additional payments exceeding $390 million could potentially be made to Celldex based on the successful development and commercialisation of CDX-110 and additional EGFRvIII vaccine products.
- In December 2007, Pfizer entered into a license agreement with Scil Technology Gmbh (Scil) for worldwide collaboration on Scil cartilage specific growth factor CD-RAP. Under this agreement, Pfizer obtained a worldwide exclusive license to develop and commercialise CD-RAP. It may make payments of up to $242 million based upon development and regulatory milestones.
- In December 2007, Pfizer entered into a license and collaboration agreement with Adolor Corporation (Adolor) to develop and commercialise ADL5859 and ADL577, proprietary delta opioid receptor agonist compounds for the treatment of pain. It may make payments of up to $233 million to Adolor, based on development and regulatory milestones.
- In December 2007, Pfizer entered into a research collaboration and license agreement with Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Taisho) to acquire worldwide rights outside of Japan for TS-032, a metabolic glutamate receptor agonist that may offer a new treatment option for central nervous system disorders, and is currently in pre-clinical development for the treatment of schizophrenia. It may make payments of up to $255 million to Taisho based upon development and regulatory milestones.
- In the second quarter of 2007, Pfizer entered into a collaboration agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) to further develop and commercialise apixaban, an oral anticoagulant compound discovered by BMS. It made an initial payment to BMS of $250 million and additional payments to BMS related to product development efforts, which are included in research and development expenses in 2007. It may also make additional payments of up to $780 million to BMS, based on development and regulatory milestones. In a separate agreement, Pfizer is also collaborating with BMS on the research, development and commercialisation of a Pfizer discovery programme, which includes preclinical compounds with potential applications for the treatment of metabolic disorders, including diabetes. It exited research efforts in the area of obesity during the third quarter of 2008.
- In April 2007, Pfizer agreed with OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OSI) to terminate a 2002 collaboration agreement to co-promote Macugen, for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), in the U.S. It also agreed to amend and restate a 2002 license agreement for Macugen, and to return to OSI all rights to develop and commercialise Macugen in the U.S. In return, OSI granted Pfizer an exclusive right to develop and commercialise Macugen in the rest of the world.
- In December 2006, Pfizer entered into a collaboration agreement with Kosan Biosciences Inc. (Kosan) to develop a gastrointestinal disease treatment. In 2006, it expensed a payment of $12 million, which was included in research and development expenses. Additional milestone payments of up to approximately $238 million may be made to Kosan, based upon the successful development and commercialisation of a product.
- In September 2006, Pfizer entered into a license agreement with Quark Biotech Inc. for exclusive worldwide rights to a compound for the treatment of neovascular (wet) AMD.
- In September 2006, Pfizer entered into a license and collaboration agreement with TransTech Pharma Inc. (TransTech) to develop and commercialise small- and large-molecule compounds for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and diabetic neuropathy. Under the terms of the agreement, Pfizer received exclusive worldwide rights to TransTech’s portfolio of compounds. In 2006, it expensed a payment of $101 million, which was included in research and development expenses. Additional significant milestone payments may be made to TransTech, based upon the successful development and commercialisation of a product.
- In June 2006, Pfizer entered into a license agreement with Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation to acquire exclusive worldwide rights to DGAT-1 inhibitors.
- In June 2006, Pfizer acquired the worldwide rights to Toviaz (fesoterodine), a drug for treating overactive bladder which was approved in the EU in April 2007 and in the U.S. in October 2008, from Schwarz Pharma AG.
- In March 2006, Pfizer entered into research collaborations with NicOX SA in ophthalmic disorders and NOXXON Pharma AG in Alzheimer’s disease and ophthalmic disorders.
