One of the world’s largest pharmaceutical multinational companies in USA is Pfizer. It has its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut. Pfizer is engaged in the production of a variety of medicines and vaccines for diseases and ailments relating to cardiology, oncology, diabetology, neurology and immunology and others.

Some of the facts regarding Pfizer are:

Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart were two cousins who got into chemical business and launched Charles Pfizer and Company, now known as Pfizer. There first chemical drug produced was Santonin, an anti-parasitic agent.

Pfizer today deals primarily in animal health, consumer health and pharmaceutical products.

With 31 countries manufacturing Pfizer medicines, their products are sold in over 150 countries worldwide. The multinational company offers employment to 110,600 people from all over the world.

Pfizer grew and developed rapidly during the First World War producing medicines like cholorform, morphine, caphor, mercurial drugs, iodine, painkillers, preservatives and disinfectants.

Pfizer has a minimum of 28 clinical research centres in different parts of the world.

The largest investments made by any Pharmaceutical company today are Pfizer. In 2000, an estimate of $3,200 million was calculated to be the budget invested in research and development.

Out of the 10 leading pharmaceutical products that were discovered in Pfizer, 4 were discovered by scientists belonging to UK. These products include Istin, Viagra, Diflucan and Cardura.

US business magazine Fortune ranked Pfizer as the best company to work for while Forbes ranked it as the Best Company of the year in 2013.
Pfizer’s current R&D industry is focusing on developing drugs pertaining to treatments for heart, lungs, gastrointestinal tracts, fungal, viral issues, and tissue repair. Animal health research includes development of special treatments for the betterment of livestock health and of domestic pets.

Anti-parasitics, vaccines against virus, mastitis, de-wormers, feed supplements, immunisations, oral rehydration liquids, antibiotics etc. are some of the products that are produced by Pfizer for Animal Health.

Human health products manufactured by Pfizer include Aludrox, Rappell, Stoppers, Buttercup, Diflucan One, Liqufruta, Migraleve, Isogel, Feldene P Gel etc.
Pfizer has been engaged in funding many scientific projects and endeavours, some of which include financial grants being offered to students of research at the University of Strathclyde, donating a quarter million pounds to local community projects and efforts to raise standards of scientific teaching in primary schools.

Pfizer’s method of producing vitamin C in a fermentation-free method resulted in its non-stop production and made it one of the world’s leading producers of vitamin. Vitamin C helps in defending scurvy and common cold.

Among the top 5 suppliers to the National Health Service, Pfizer ranks first and offers an annual growth rate of 35% from its turnover.

Pfizer had been in the news recently with the accusation of bribing foreign officials in order to dispense more drugs. The illicit transactions were kept under covers with the excuse of business expenses. Court settlements finally resulted in Pfizer having to pay 60 million dollars.

US Securities and Exchange Commission too is settled to receive 45 million dollars due to Pfizer’s illegal means of boosting company profits by way of bribing doctors belonging to countries like the Czech Republic, Italy, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria, India etc.

Pfizer is perhaps the best pharmaceutical company in the world which funds million dollars’ worth of research every year to provide life-saving drugs. It has only been going from strength to strength.