Pfizer blames sales drop on patent expiries

US pharmaceutical company Pfizer has reported that last year it saw a drop in sales revenue and has blamed it on the loss of certain important patents.

The pharma company’s fourth quarter report, released on Tuesday (January 27), shows that its overall sales revenue in 2014 was $49 billion, a 4% decline from 2013, when it was $51 billion.

Pfizer attributed this drop to the loss of key patents in the US, such as those covering Enbrel (etanercept) and Celebrex (celecoxib), and the introduction of generic versions to the market.

There was a 3% drop in sales revenue in the fourth quarter alone, which Pfizer said was because of increased competition from generic versions of Enbrel.

The report said: “Operational growth was offset primarily by the loss of exclusivity and subsequent multi-source generic competition for Celebrex in the US … the termination of the Spiriva (tiotropium) [patent] in certain countries, as well as by other product losses of exclusivity in certain markets.”

Despite the overall drop in sales revenue in 2014, the $49 billion figure beat some financial analysts’ predictions for that year.

Ian Read, chairman and chief executive of Pfizer, described the company’s year as “modest” despite the “continued revenue headwinds from product losses of exclusivity and co-promote expiries”.

Frank D’Amelio, chief financial officer at the company, added: “Regarding our financial performance, we achieved or exceeded all elements of our 2014 financial guidance despite an operating environment that remains challenging.”

Pfizer is not the only pharma company struggling with patent expirations. As LSIPR reported last year, Eli Lilly revealed a drop of more than 50% in profits in its third quarter report, released in October.

Lilly said it was due to the expiry of patents on key drugs, such as the anti-depressant Cymbalta (duloxetine).