Pfizer's Chantix Woes Bash High Hopes

"There is no advantage to Exubera, and there may be a safety risk," he added. "I see it as my job to talk people out of [using] it."

At that point, with Exubera likely doomed, Pfizer executives had already begun a six-month insider-selling spree of the company's stock. After they finished, Pfizer finally pulled the plug on its disappointing inhaler.

This April, Pfizer revealed that six patients who took Exubera during clinical trials had gone on to develop lung cancer. While Pfizer stopped short of blaming the drug, pointing to cigarettes as a possible cause instead, only one patient who took placebo pills wound up with the same problem.

Pfizer stopped marketing Exubera for other reasons, however, saying that "it did not meet customers' needs or the company's financial expectations" in the end.

Damaged Goods

By the time Pfizer halted sales of Exubera last fall, taking a multibillion-charge to its earnings, concerns had started to surface about Chantix as well.

In November 2007, after fielding multiple reports of Chantix-related deaths, the Food and Drug Administration issued a suicide alert about the drug. Otherwise, Chantix might have achieved blockbuster status.

Despite that initial warning, issued near the end of 2007, Pfizer still managed to sell $883 million worth of Chantix last year. With sales up a whopping 773% from the previous year, Chantix boasted the fastest growth rate -- by far -- of any drug in Pfizer's portfolio.

Even today, the drug (known as "Champix") continues to fare well outside the U.S. Now available in most major countries throughout the world, Champix has received especially warm welcomes in countries with large numbers of smokers -- such as India -- despite its possible risks.