Pfizer Inc.'s Lipitor: The Celebrity Endorsement Controversy

Pfizer was founded by Charles Pfizer (Charles), a chemist, and his cousin Charles Erhart (Erhart), a confectioner, in Brooklyn, New York, US. The company, which was initially called Charles Pfizer & Company (CPC), was set up in 1849, a year after the duo's arrival from Germany. The first medicinal product from the company was Santonin, a palatable anti-parasitic. In 1862, during the American Civil War, Pfizer increased the production of its chemicals and drugs, which doctors of the Union Army used to treat wounded and sick soldiers. The company moved to larger premises on Maiden Lane in the Wall Street area of Manhattan in 1868 and the production of citric acid in the 1880s initiated its growth...

In the mid-2000s, one of the biggest challenges for Pfizer was to grow its cash cow further. But this was easier said than done. While the class of 'cholesterol and triglyceride reducers' was the biggest therapy class of 2005 with an estimated global sales of US$ 32.6 billion and growth of 7 percent (according to IMS MIDAS Quantum), the market was very competitive. The major brands competing in the market were Lipitor, Zocor, Vytorin, Crestor, and Zetia, (Refer to Figure III for the four leading statins of 2005 by revenue). All the other brands were trying to nip at the market share of the leader Lipitor...