Pfizer's Strategic Move into Opioid Analgesics

Pfizer's (PFE-$31.93) management stated during the fourth-quarter 2013 earnings call last month that a move toward opioid analgesics and a promising anti-nerve growth factor (NGF) drug in its pipeline, a monoclonal antibody called tanezumab, could help to mitigate the impact Celebrex's loss of market exclusivity will have on sales going forward.

Looking to capitalize on the growing need for abuse-deterrent formulations, Pfizer is looking to entrench itself in the $5.1 billion market for extended-release (ER) opioid formulations prescribed by physicians to chronic pain sufferers (30% of the $18.1 billion in annual sales for all opioid-based therapies). 

Chief executive Ian Read confirmed on the conference call that Embeda, an ER morphine/naltrexone formulation that was voluntarily benched in 2011, would be back on pharmacy shelves in second-quarter 2014 after the FDA approved both an updated manufacturing process and a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) – which is now required for all ER and long-acting opioid medications.

Read more at The Motley Fool: Pfizer Stubs Toe Without Celebrex

Editor David J Phillips does not hold a financial interest in any stocks mentioned in this article. The 10Q Detective has a Full Disclosure Policy.