Drugmaker Pfizer cutting up to 800 scientist jobs

[OhioChick]

Source: AP

Tuesday, January 13, 2009; 12:08 PM

TRENTON, N.J. -- Pfizer Inc., the world's biggest drug company, is laying off up to 800 scientists this year in its latest effort to refocus disappointing research efforts and cut its massive overhead ahead of an anticipated crash in revenue.

New York-based Pfizer plans to reduce its global research staff _ currently about 10,000 people _ by 5 percent to 8 percent this year, company spokeswoman Kristen Neese said Tuesday.

"This is in line with our refocused research areas," Neese said.

The move comes after the company announced in September that it was narrowing its research focus to six disease areas _ Alzheimer's, cancer, schizophrenia, pain, inflammation and diabetes _ and abandoning new research in other areas.

That included cardiovascular disease, where Pfizer had been a dominant player with its $13 billion-a-year cholesterol fighter Lipitor, the world's top-selling drug. But Lipitor is expected to face generic competition in late 2011, and efforts to come up with a successor drug failed, including the flameout of once-promising torcetrapib after it was linked to heart problems in late-stage human testing.

Already, Lipitor sales have dipped slightly, apparently partly due to consumers trying a much-cheaper generic form of a similar drug, Zocor.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/13/AR2009011301300.html

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800 Scientists...gone? :wtf:

[no_hypocrisy]

1. How many executives are keeping their jobs . . . . ?

[goforit]

18. great point!!! The execs need to go.

[bitchkitty]

19. How many lawyers? n/t

[tridim]

2. They need the money to produce more TV ads. nt

[tanyev]

3. Scientists? We don't need no stinking scientists.

Quick! Authorize HR to hire 1200 more sales reps!

[ChromeFoundry]

4. Why even bother getting a college degree, anymore? n/t

[Romulox]

5. Wow. That's a lot of late Honda payments! nt

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

6. R&D is always one of the first areas to be cut.

In a downturn, companies usually cut their offerings, hence less need for R&D.

[Warpy]

7. Don't forget that the research they are doing in statin areas

are basically to tweak drugs that are already out there into a new form that can be patented and advertised as new and different and somehow better. It also is directed toward producing "me too" drugs licensed from NIH research to a competitor.

Nearly all breakthrough drugs are discovered serendipitously through pure research at universities using socialist NIH grants.

The best news is that second and third generation drugs are sometimes superior to the original. The worst news is that sometimes a Celebrex will produce a fatal Vioxx.

I hope the researchers will find new homes at universities.

[Barack_America]

8. They're not going to find new homes anytime soon....

Many Universities currently have hiring freezes due to the stock market taking a hit on their endowments.

I'm at one of the huge research powerhouses (in terms of NIH funding) and even we have a hiring freeze.

It's scary in science right now.

[Warpy]

13. It's scary all over right now

but scientists and engineers who need to keep current are especially vulnerable.

[WriteDown]

10. Care to supply some links to some of those...

outlandish theories. Especially, this one.

"Nearly all breakthrough drugs are discovered serendipitously through pure research at universities using socialist NIH grants."

[Warpy]

12. sure.

What are your tax dollars buying? http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/37/7/8

The case against the drug industry's research "scare card: "http://www.citizen.org/publications/release.cfm?ID=7065

The universities only do the preliminary trials. When a drug is licensed to a pharmaceutical company, that company does the large scale trials needed for final approval. They are not handed drugs ready for marketing.

However, most of the real breakthroughs are made at the university level.

[WriteDown]

16. Uh, this says the exact opposite....

Basically 4 out of 47 blockbusters were created using NIH funding. (from your first link)

"NIH staffers identified 47 medications meeting the blockbuster definition during Fiscal 2001. Of those, three patented products, marketed under four brand names—epoetin alfa (Epogen/Amgen Inc. and Procrit/Ortho Biotech), filgrastim (Neupogen/Amgen Inc.), and paclitaxel (Taxol/Bristol-Myers Squibb)—were developed using NIH-funded technology"

[Azlady]

9. So those 800 scientists will not be picked up by Universities due

to the hiring freeze... more in the unemployment lines and what does that say about our future healthcare without r&d?

[CLANG]

14. I share your concern, but we also have to keep in mind that

they are only cutting 500-800 out of 10,000 positions, so it's not like R&D is dying out.

[OhioChick]

15. R&D is being sent to China and India

at an alarming rate.

[GodlessBiker]

11. Isn't this how the Riddler was created?

[HopeHoops]

17. I bet they use the savings to hire more markateers and take out more ads in Reader's Digest

[ihavenobias]

20. How much worse can this get? n/t

[doodadem]

21. The pharmaceutical industry is one that I recruit in......

Certain skills are always in demand, for instance, people with experience in clinical trials.

As in any other industry though, people who refuse to consider relocation can generally plan on looking awhile for a job. Especially in this economy, you have to go where the jobs are for people with your skills. It's always unfortunate to see people wait too long to realize (or believe) this, and by the time they're ready to move, companies are saying--you've been out of work too long.

Believe me, it sucks.

[marybourg]

24. It's hard to relocate when you can't sell your house! n/t

[doodadem]

25. I've been telling most of my candidates for the past year--

Don't sell your house, the market stinks. Rent it out until the market improves, and in the mean time, you can scope out what part of town you want to live in where you relocate, while you are renting.

And that's what a goodly percentage are doing.

[burrowowl]

22. The Drug Companies don't need researchers

they get research free from the tax-payer funded NIH!
They just need to fund their Marketing.

[LisaL]

23. What on Earth are you talking about?

NIH supports academic research.

[hunter]

26. From now on they're only going to sell Placeb-OX

It works as well as or better than most prescription medicines, including the most commonly prescribed placebos!!!

Ask your doctor about Placeb-OX...

This stuff is great! - Rush Limbaugh

[Runcible Spoon]

27. Hmm, no job cuts in their whoring, err, advertising sector?

Ahem..."The move comes after the company announced in September that it was narrowing its research focus to six disease areas _ Alzheimer's, cancer, schizophrenia, pain, inflammation and diabetes _ and abandoning new research in other areas"

As in, THESE ARE FANTASTIC CHRONIC CONDITIONS WHERE PEOPLE STAY ALIVE FOR A LONG TIME AND WE CAN MAXIMIZE PROFITS BY KEEPING THEM ON OUR DRUGS FOR YEARS, MAYBE EVEN DECADES YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*()&*(&*^&*(!!!!!!!!!

:puke: