Pfizer to cut 2,200 US sales jobs

Pfizer's profits depend on the firm finding new blockbuster drugs

US drugs firm Pfizer plans to cut 20% of its US sales force, about 2,200 jobs, as it looks to trim costs and offset the loss of key patents.

The job cuts from Pfizer's 11,000 US sales staff will take place by the end of this year, the company said.

Pfizer has seen patents protecting some of its top drugs expire recently, and is due to lose others in the coming years, allowing rivals to make copies.

Earlier this year, Pfizer announced it planned to reorganise its business.

Pfizer boss Jeffrey Kindler said that there would be no "sacred cows" in his search for increased efficiency.

"This is something Pfizer should have done a long time ago," said Jason Napodano, an analyst at Zacks Independent Research. "It is a good thing. It shows Kindler is doing something."

Industry problem

Pfizer has lost patents on drugs such as its antidepressant Zoloft, and will lose protection on blood-pressure treatment Norvasc next year, and its blockbuster cholesterol pill Lipitor by 2011.

Once a patent expires, other companies can produce copies of the treatments, a move that usually leads to prices falling.

Expiring patents are expected to reduce Pfizer's revenues from drug sales by about a third between 2004 and 2008.

Pfizer is not alone in having to recalculate its cost base, and rivals Eli Lilly and Merck have also announced plans to trim their workforce and costs.

However, some analysts said that they were surprised at the decision by Pfizer to cut its sales force, as even though it is regarded as one of the industry's largest, it is also seen as one of the most effective.

Pfizer said the reduction in sales representatives would not affect its ability to sell its drugs.

Analysts said while the job cuts would help in the short term, research and development would be a key area for the company because finding new blockbuster drugs was the best way for it to remain profitable.