Playing catch up

Playing catch up

Investors may be taking a wait-and-see approach to Pfizer in the aftermath of Hank McKinnell's departure as CEO, as PFE is up a modest 5% since his early departure was announced at the end of July. It remains to be seen how the new CEO, Jeffrey Kindler, plans to move forward, and the company did not respond to requests for a timetable on when Kindler would unveil a detailed vision for the company going forward. Earlier this month, he announced some changes in management, including the formation of an executive leadership team consisting of Kindler and seven direct reports. He also announced that Vice Chairman Karen Katen would leave to pursue other opportunities. PFE has a lot of ground to make up. Since McKinnell took over in January 2001, the stock has fallen 33%, compared to a 5% gain for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a 23% drop for the AMEX Drug Index. During that time, the company has made a spate of acquistions, had at least four major partnerships in late-stage development go sour, watched competition eat away at its Viagra franchise, and seen its COX-2 inhibitor revenues, which had been bolstered by the $56 billion acquisition of Pharmacia, hit by the fallout from the Vioxx mess at Merck (MRK). A. 1/1/01 - McKinnell promoted to president and CEO from president and COO B. 6/7/02 - Returns exclusive worldwide rights to pagoclone to Indevus (IDEV) after the compound failed to meet endpoints in a Phase III trial to treat panic disorder and two Phase II trials to treat generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) ...