Pfizer Bumps Up Forecast

At the close of trading, shares of Pfizer were up 42 cents, or 1.6%, to $27.49 on heavier-than-average volume.

Of key interest to investors and analysts is the experimental drug torcetrapib, which Pfizer is developing to boost the body's so-called good cholesterol. A key to better heart health is to raise good cholesterol and lower bad cholesterol. Lipitor, the world's biggest-selling prescription drug, is Pfizer's bad-cholesterol fighter.

Pfizer is developing a combination pill containing Lipitor and torcetrapib, and the company expects to learn the results of three late-stage clinical trials of the drug in late March. If the results are positive, Kindler said Pfizer would seek approval for the pill from the Food and Drug Administration during the second half of 2007.

The combination pill has been controversial. Although recent clinical studies show that it has positive effects on cholesterol, the compound also causes a slight increase in blood pressure. Pfizer previously has said the initial results of higher blood pressure "will not alter the favorable clinical profile of [the drug] in the treatment of cardiovascular disease."

"We believe strongly" in the pill, Kindler said. Pfizer's financial guidance through 2008 excludes this medication.

The combination pill also would protect the Lipitor franchise, which now accounts for about one-fourth of Pfizer's corporate sales. The key U.S. Lipitor patent expires in March 2010 and another patent expires in June 2011. The earlier Pfizer can launch its combination pill, the easier it will be for the company to convince doctors and patients to switch from Lipitor to the new pill before generic Lipitor floods the market.