It’s been a while since we heard from Pfizer head honcho Jeff Kindler. Kindler recently told investment group Fairholme Capital Management during a conference call that the Wyeth merger will help make Pfizer more diversified.

Kindler mentioned that the plan is to move away from an overreliance on blockbuster drugs and focus on more specialized medicines, biologics and vaccines. Kinlder also said that the new business units Pfizer implemented last year have helped to quicken decision-making in the company while adding a measure of accountability as well. For example, the decision to exit two late-stage drugs earlier this year might not have been made in the past because R&D officials previously were rewarded for bringing more compounds to expensive trials instead of being rewarded for the market success of new products.

Kindler commented on the change in drug development strategy as well as the merger timeline:

“It changes the mix so we’re not as dependent on a blockbuster-focused model. There was, in my judgment, too much reliance on research relative to its ability to deliver…(we) intend to have a great deal of this done in the first 30 days.”

Kindler also said he hopes to prevent the disruptions created in R&D that took two to three years to shake out after the company’s previous mergers with Pharmacia and Warner Lambert.

The Pfizer-Wyeth merger will come with about 20,000 layoffs.

Image from daylife

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