Pfizer Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer (1824–1906) and his cousin Charles F. Erhart (1821–1891).
A medication is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and relies on the science of pharmacology for continual advancement and on pharmacy for appropriate management.
The pharmaceutical industry is an industry in medicine that discovers, develops, produces, and markets pharmaceutical drugs for use as medications to be administered to patients, with the aim to cure and prevent diseases, or alleviate symptoms. Pharmaceutical companies may deal in generic or brand medications and medical devices. They are subject to a variety of laws and regulations that govern the patenting, testing, safety, efficacy using drug testing and marketing of drugs. The global pharmaceuticals market produced treatments worth $1,228.45 billion in 2020 and showed a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.8%.
Sanofi S.A. is a French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, France. The corporation was established in 1973 and merged with Synthélabo in 1999 to form Sanofi-Synthélabo. In 2004, Sanofi-Synthélabo merged with Aventis and renamed to Sanofi-Aventis, which were each the product of several previous mergers. It changed its name back to Sanofi in May 2011. The company is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index. In 2023, the company’s seat in Forbes Global 2000 was 89.
Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT), also known as bioidentical hormone therapy (BHT) or natural hormone therapy, is the use of hormones that are identical on a molecular level with endogenous hormones in hormone replacement therapy. It may also be combined with blood and saliva testing of hormone levels, and the use of pharmacy compounding to obtain hormones in an effort to reach a targeted level of hormones in the body. A number of claims by some proponents of BHT have not been confirmed through scientific testing. Specific hormones used in BHT include estrone, estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and estriol.
King Pharmaceuticals, is a pharmaceutical company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pfizer based in Bristol, Tennessee. Before being acquired by Pfizer, it was the world's 39th largest pharmaceutical company. On October 12, 2010, King was acquired by Pfizer for $14.25 per share. King produced a wide range of pharmaceuticals, including Altace for heart attack prevention, Levoxyl for hypothyroidism, Sonata, a sleeping aid, and Skelaxin, a muscle relaxant. King Pharmaceuticals operated manufacturing facilities in Bristol, Tennessee; Rochester, Michigan; St. Louis, Missouri; St. Petersburg, Florida; and Middleton, Wisconsin. They employed approximately 2,700 people including a sales force of over 1,000 individuals.
Bazedoxifene, used as bazedoxifene acetate, is a medication for bone problems and possibly for cancer. It is a third-generation selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM). Since late 2013 it has had U.S. FDA approval for bazedoxifene as part of the combination drug Duavee in the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis. It is also being studied for possible treatment of breast cancer and pancreatic cancer.
Kaye Scholer was a law firm founded in 1917 by Benjamin Kaye and Jacob Scholer. The firm had more than 450 attorneys in nine offices located in the cities of Chicago, Frankfurt, London, Los Angeles, New York City (headquarters), Shanghai, Palo Alto, Washington, D.C., and West Palm Beach.
Robert A. Wilson was an American gynecologist who is known for writing the best-selling 1966 book Feminine Forever. He is also known for his organization the Wilson Research Foundation (WRA). In Feminine Forever, Wilson promoted the use of estrogen therapy to avoid the menopause and associated symptoms. He characterized menopause as a serious disease state and made strong claims about the effectiveness and safety of menopausal hormone therapy in alleviating it and improving quality of life and health. Wilson's claims were criticized as not being based on adequate research and evidence. Subsequently, trials such as the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) contradicted Wilson's claims and showed that menopausal hormone therapy could have significant medical risks and that its benefits were not as great as once believed.
Dexfenfluramine, marketed as dexfenfluramine hydrochloride under the name Redux, is a serotonergic anorectic drug: it reduces appetite by increasing the amount of extracellular serotonin in the brain. It is the d-enantiomer of fenfluramine and is structurally similar to amphetamine, but lacks any psychologically stimulating effects.
Peter Rost is an American former drug marketing executive who is most known for taking public stances critical of the pharmaceutical industry as an "insider" and whistleblower. He sued his last two pharmaceutical employers, Wyeth and Pfizer, the latter of which fired him in 2005. At Wyeth, he uncovered tax evasion practices, and after informing senior company executives, was transferred from Sweden to a post in New Jersey. Rost sued the company, saying that the transfer was a retaliatory demotion, though the company said it was a promotion. Rost settled with Wyeth for an undisclosed amount in 2003. At Pfizer, Rost filed a qui tam suit disclosing off-label marketing of Genotropin at Pharmacia prior to its purchase by Pfizer. The U.S. Department of Justice declined to join in Rost's suit as the marketing violations had already been disclosed to the Department by Pfizer. Rost was eventually fired by Pfizer, and sued for wrongful dismissal, but this lawsuit was summarily dismissed by the court based on evidence that Pfizer had decided to fire Rost prior to discovery of his whistleblowing activities. Since then, Rost has worked outside the pharmaceutical industry, as a public speaker, blogger, writer, and litigation consultant.
Fred Hassan, is a Pakistan-born American business executive who works for Warburg Pincus and was CEO of three global pharmaceutical companies.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), also known as menopausal hormone therapy or postmenopausal hormone therapy, is a form of hormone therapy used to treat symptoms associated with female menopause. Effects of menopause can include symptoms such as hot flashes, accelerated skin aging, vaginal dryness, decreased muscle mass, and complications such as osteoporosis, sexual dysfunction, and vaginal atrophy. They are mostly caused by low levels of female sex hormones that occur during menopause.
The Drug Industry Documents Archive (DIDA) is a digital archive of pharmaceutical industry documents created and maintained by the University of California, San Francisco, Library and Center for Knowledge Management. DIDA is a part of the larger UCSF Industry Documents Library which includes the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents. The archive contains documents about pharmaceutical industry clinical trials, publication of study results, pricing, marketing, relations with physicians and drug company involvement in continuing medical education.
Birth control pills come in a variety of formulations. The main division is between combined oral contraceptive pills, containing both estrogens and synthetic progestogens (progestins), and progestogen only pills. Combined oral contraceptive pills also come in varying types, including varying doses of estrogen, and whether the dose of estrogen or progestogen changes from week to week.
Conjugated estrogens (CEs), or conjugated equine estrogens (CEEs), sold under the brand name Premarin among others, is an estrogen medication which is used in menopausal hormone therapy and for various other indications. It is a mixture of the sodium salts of estrogen conjugates found in horses, such as estrone sulfate and equilin sulfate. CEEs are available in the form of both natural preparations manufactured from the urine of pregnant mares and fully synthetic replications of the natural preparations. They are formulated both alone and in combination with progestins such as medroxyprogesterone acetate. CEEs are usually taken by mouth, but can also be given by application to the skin or vagina as a cream or by injection into a blood vessel or muscle.
Conjugated estrogens/medroxyprogesterone acetate (CEs/MPA), sold under the brand names Prempro and Premphase, is a combination product of conjugated equine estrogens (Premarin), an estrogen collected from horse urine, and medroxyprogesterone acetate (Provera), a progestogen, which is used in menopausal hormone therapy for the treatment of menopausal symptoms.
Nestlé-Wyeth Nutrition provides food products to meet the needs of infants, young children and adults. Through scientific research, they claim to help nourish children when breastfeeding is not an option. Wyeth Nutrition started in 1915 when Henry Grestberger manufactured the first formula patterned after breast milk called SMA. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, formerly Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, is the original company founded by the Wyeth brothers, originally known as John Wyeth and Brother. They focused on the research, development, and marketing of prescription drugs. The pharmaceuticals division was further subdivided into five subdivisions: Wyeth Research, Prescription Products, Biotech, Vaccines, and Nutritionals. Wyeth's research and development director Robert Ruffolo was quoted in The New York Times about the firm's efforts to develop new drugs.
Albert Bourla is an American-Greek veterinarian and the chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer, an American pharmaceutical company. He joined the company in 1993 and has held several executive roles across Pfizer's divisions. Prior to becoming chief executive officer, Bourla served as chief operating officer.
Relugolix/estradiol/norethisterone acetate, sold under the brand names Myfembree and Ryeqo, is a fixed-dose combination hormonal medication which is used for the treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding associated with uterine leiomyomas (fibroids) and for moderate to severe pain associated with endometriosis. It contains relugolix, an orally active gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist, estradiol, an estrogen, and norethisterone acetate, a progestin. The medication is taken by mouth.
US$ 22.4 billion (2008)
