Pfizer Bumps Up Forecast

Pfizer also revealed that it is working on two other compounds to raise good cholesterol. Both are in the first phase of clinical testing.

Providing an overall look at Pfizer's R&D efforts, Kindler predicted Pfizer would be able to produce "a steady stream of new, internally generated products" by 2011.

One indicator of any drugmaker's prospects is the number of experimental compounds in late-stage clinical testing.

"We now expect that our Phase 3 portfolio will grow dramatically and may even triple from 2006 to 2009," said Dr. John LaMattina, president of global research and development, referring to the final stage of testing before a drug is submitted for regulatory approval. He predicts Pfizer could be producing four products a year from this research starting in 2011.

Among products in advanced stages of development, Pfizer said it expects to file an application next month with the FDA for maraviroc, a treatment for AIDS patients.

Pfizer hopes to begin selling by midyear the antibiotic Zeven, which is still under review by the FDA. Zeven has experienced several regulatory delays since mid-2005. The antibiotic was acquired last year when Pfizer paid $1.9 billion for Vicuron Pharmaceuticals.

Pfizer said an obesity treatment was in Phase 3 testing as a potential treatment for malignant melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer. Next year, it expects to begin Phase 3 testing for axitinib for cancers of the breast, thyroid and lung. Also in 2007, Pfizer plans to start a late-stage clinical test on a treatment for chronic liver disease.