Pfizer's Lipitor Down, Chantix Up in 2007

Pharmaceutical revenue from Pfizer’s U.S. operations decreased last year as competition in the cholesterol market contributed to an 8 percent decline in revenues for the firm’s flagship product Lipitor. The company’s $48.6 billion 2007 total revenue was 1 percent better than its 2006 revenue of $48.4 billion.

Overall, the company’s domestic revenue dropped 11 percent to $21.74 billion in 2007. Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium) had revenue of approximately $7.2 billion in the U.S. last year compared with approximately $7.85 billion in 2006. Worldwide Lipitor revenues were approximately $12.7 billion, a 2 percent decrease from 2006.

Products in other markets fared much better. Smoking cessation drug Chantix (varenicline), which has been used by more than 5 million people worldwide, neared blockbuster status in 2007 with worldwide revenue of approximately $883 million.

The firm also posted strong results for antiseizure medication Lyrica (pregabalin). The drug brought in $320 million during the fourth quarter of 2007 in the U.S., a 15 percent sequential increase from the third quarter.