Pfizer sales fall on loss of drug exclusivity

Pfizer Inc. reported lower quarterly sales as the company lost U.S. market exclusivity for its blockbuster pain drug Lyrica in 2019.

The New York drugmaker on Tuesday posted $12.69 billion in fourth-quarter sales, meeting expectations of analysts polled by FactSet. It had $13.98 billion in sales in the prior year.

Sales in its Upjohn unit, which includes Lyrica and anti-impotence pill Viagra, declined 32 percent to $2.16 billion for the quarter. Pfizer’s Upjohn business is combining with Mylan NV, forming a new pharmaceutical company to be called Viatris. The combination is expected to close in mid-2020.

To offset the effect of declining sales of its off-patent drugs, Pfizer has been reshaping itself, betting its laboratories can develop new drugs that will boost sales, and jettisoning both slower-growing businesses selling drugs facing generic competition and consumer products.

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Sales in the company’s biopharmaceutical segment rose 7 percent to $10.53 billion, driven by gains in key drugs such as the blood thinner Eliquis and breast-cancer drug Ibrance.

Pfizer shares fell 0.9 percent in premarket trading.

The company recorded a net loss of $337 million, or 6 cents a share, compared with a loss of $394 million, or 7 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

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Excluding one-time items, the company reported earnings of 55 cents a share, missing the 58 cents a share analysts were expecting.

Pfizer spent $2.82 billion on research and development in the quarter, up 15 percent from the same period a year earlier.

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For 2020, Pfizer targets adjusted earnings of $2.82 to $2.92 a share on revenue of $48.5 billion to $50.5 billion. Reflecting Upjohn’s coming combination with Mylan, Pfizer sees adjusted earnings of $2.25 a share to $2.35 a share on revenue of $40.7 billion to $42.3 billion.