Pfizer

Pfizer

Pfizer, Inc. (/ˈfaɪzər/) (NYSE: PFE) is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation headquartered in New York City, and with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut, United States. It is the world's largest pharmaceutical company by revenues.

Pfizer develops and produces medicines and vaccines for a wide range of conditions including in the areas of immunology and inflammation, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and pain. Pfizer's products include Lipitor (atorvastatin, used to lower blood cholesterol); the neuropathic pain/fibromyalgia drug Lyrica (pregabalin); the oral antifungal medication Diflucan (fluconazole), the antibiotic Zithromax (azithromycin), Viagra (sildenafil, for erectile dysfunction), and the anti-inflammatory Celebrex (celecoxib) (also known as Celebra in some countries).

Pfizer was founded by cousins Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart in New York City in 1849 as a manufacturer of fine chemicals. Pfizer's discovery of Terramycin (oxytetracycline) in 1950 put it on a path towards becoming a research-based pharmaceutical company. Pfizer has made numerous acquisitions, including of Warner–Lambert in 2000, Pharmacia in 2003 and Wyeth in 2009, the latter acquired for US$68 billion. Pfizer is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and its shares have been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since April 8, 2004.

In September 2009, Pfizer pleaded guilty to the illegal marketing of the arthritis drug Bextra for uses unapproved by the FDA, and agreed to a $2.3 billion settlement, the largest health care fraud settlement at that time. Pfizer also paid the U.S. government $1.3 billion in criminal fines related to the "off-label" marketing of Bextra, the largest penalty ever rendered for any crime. Called a repeat offender, this was Pfizer's fourth such settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in the previous ten years.