Pfizer negotiating possible acquisition of Wyeth

NEW YORK Pfizer is currently in talks to potentially acquire Wyeth in a deal that could be valued at more than $600 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday morning.

According to the report, Pfizer and Wyeth executives have been negotiating a possible deal for months, but a deal is not imminent. Pfizer CEO Jeff Kindler told The Financial Times earlier this month that Pfizer may acquire a large pharmaceutical company. Published reports had speculated that this could be Bristol-Myers Squibb or Gilead Sciences. Neither Pfizer nor Wyeth communication executives would confirm the speculated merger.

Part of the attraction for Pfizer, according to published reports, is Wyeth's position in biotechnology. The company has had success with Prevnar, its pediatric pneumococcal vaccine, which brought in $2.1 billion in sales over the first nine months of 2008, a 12% increase, according to company reports. A newer version of the vaccine, Prevnar-13, is currently in development. 

Wyeth also co-markets Enbrel, a biologic drug positioned against arthritis, with Amgen. The Wyeth Consumer Healthcare division, which fields a significant portfolio across analgesics and cough-cold with Advil, ChapStick and Robitussin, may also be appealing to Pfizer. Pfizer has been criticized of late for selling its own over-the-counter division to Johnson & Johnson, noting that J&J's McNeil Consumer Healthcare division is one of the positives for that company in a recession economy and a challenging environment throughout the prescription-drug industry.