Pfizer Bumps Up Forecast

Additionally, in a break from tradition, Pfizer will post on its Web site in the next few weeks a scorecard of experimental compounds in various stages of testing, not just the late-state development products.

"During the past four months, I have repeatedly heard from investors that they would like a broader picture of our pipeline and its potential, as well as a realistic assessment of our opportunities and challenges," said Kindler, who replaced Hank McKinnell as CEO in late July. McKinnell will remain chairman until February.

"We are providing more detail about the mid- and earlier stages of our pipeline than we have before," Kindler said. The clinical-trial data on the Web site will enable "investors, doctors, patients and their families ... to track our progress over time," Kindler said.

Pfizer executives said they are willing to make an assortment of transactions, ranging from modest acquisitions to collaborations to licensing. Vice Chairman David Shedlarz said Pfizer will be much more disciplined in its dealmaking.

The old strategy followed a "cookie cutter" formula of integrating new products or new companies into Pfizer. The new style will feature "increased creativity" in structuring deals and "increased flexibility in how we integrate new opportunities."

New arrangements will be "grounded in a better understanding of value," Shedlarz said. He characterized potential acquisitions as "opportunistic," filling a gap in its existing drug portfolio or building on core areas of interest.

Acquisitions won't be restricted to drugs, and they could include "synergistic" products and services, such as the inhalation device that is being used for Exubera, the inhaled insulin. A next-generation inhaler is in early stages of development.

One new deal was announced Thursday -- a five-year collaboration with the Scripps Research Institute of La Jolla, Calif., a prominent source of biotechnology research. Representatives of Scripps and Pfizer will work together to assess new approaches to treatments for cancer, diabetes and mental illness.

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