... But We Took It! (IIPM-Publications)

Treatments are getting really expensive, whether for the ills of patients or for the bottomline ailments of Big Pharma. Pfizer realised it when it won a tough takeover battle for Warner-Lambert. When in the year 2000, the two US pharmaceutical giants, Pfizer and Warner-Lambert, merged together; it heralded the future leader of the pharma industry. Today, undoubtedly, the $93.4 billion merger is one of the most successful mergers in the pharma industry; well positioned as a global leader in the discovery of new medicines. At the time of merger, Pfizer, then No. 2 in the US market, had annual revenues of around $16.2 billion. While Warner Lambert had annual revenues of around $12.9 billion, out of which $8 billion were from pharmaceutical business. The merger bought some of the top products like Pfizer’s anti-impotence drug Viagra, hypertension treatment Norvasc, anti-depressant Zoloft and Warner Lambert’s cholesterol fighter Lipitor, anticonvulsive Neurontin, Listerine mouthwash, Schick razors, under one roof. In terms of sales and market share, the group became the largest drugs company in the US, and second-largest in the world.

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Source IIPM-Editorial,2006

IIPM-Editorial (Commercial Banks)

Some view it as a ‘developmental role’, while commercial banks call it ‘good, sound banking’. Who would not want to raise deposits at a nominal risk? As it has been proved over and over again that the underlying problem has always been access to credit and not interest rates. P. S. Jayakumar, Country Business Manager, Global Consumer Group, Citigroup India agrees that “Micro enterprises have a significant role in building a financially self-sufficient community and it is important that small business owners receive economic support and training.” Amen!

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Source IIPM-Editorial,2006