Big Pharma Considers Kicking the OTC Habit

When they issue an annual report to stockholders or a quarterly report to Wall Street, Big Pharma companies place their prominent prescription products and the promising aspects of their pipelines front and center.

However, when investors and analysts read further down the list of accomplishments, they find that over-the-counter drugs, nutritional products and items ranging from mouthwash to sunscreen provide consistent, even if less spectacular, financial support.

For many big drugmakers, these lower-margin goods provide more than 10% of sales, but not every company is inclined to keep them around. Pfizer (PFE Quote) exited this field 12 months ago, selling its business to Johnson & Johnson (JNJ Quote) for $16.6 billion. Pfizer is using the money to focus on prescription drugs. ...