Pfizer Cedes Control of Diabetes Drug
By VAL BRICKATES KENNEDY
November 14, 2007; Page B2
In response to complaints from Nektar Therapeutics that Pfizer Inc. didn't properly market their jointly-developed diabetes therapy Exubera, Pfizer said it will turn over its commercial interest in the inhaled-insulin product to Nektar, in addition to a substantial payment.
The move comes about a month after Pfizer announced it would cease marketing Exubera because of poor sales. As a result, Pfizer said yesterday it plans to pay Nektar $135 million in addition to turning over commercial interests and pending regulatory filings for the product.
Nektar, a specialist in drug-delivery technology, developed the capability that lets insulin be administered through a large inhalation device.
The deal announced yesterday also calls for Nektar to assume development of a next generation of the product. The two companies will continue to jointly develop an inhaled formulation of pegylated human growth hormone to treat growth problems, the companies said.
Pfizer announced Oct. 18 that it was pulling the plug on Exubera because of anemic sales. The product, approved for sale in the U.S. in January 2006, posted sales of only $4 million in the second quarter 2007.
Despite high hopes from the diabetes community, Exubera never gained traction in the marketplace, primarily because of lingering concerns about what sort of long-term impact it might have on the lungs damped sales. And many perceived the device itself as bulky and cumbersome.
"Despite the best efforts of our sales, marketing and manufacturing colleagues, the product has simply not gained the acceptance of patients and physicians," Pfizer Chief Executive Jeffrey Kindler said on an Oct. 18 conference call.
Nektar immediately complained that Pfizer hadn't consulted with it before making their decision. Nektar also maintained that it thought Exubera could be a very successful product if marketed more effectively.
"Nektar has been very disappointed in Pfizer's performance in marketing Exubera. Pfizer has publicly acknowledged its organizational difficulties and resulting poor performance in launching Exubera," Nektar Chief Executive Howard Robin said in a statement after Pfizer's October announcement.
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