Smoking can kill you. But trying to quit with Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) smoking-cessation drug Chantix can be deadly too, new research suggests.Chantix raises the risk of depression or suicidal behavior and should be a drug of last resort, according to a study co-authored by Dr. Curt Furberg, professor of public health sciences at Wake Forest Baptist [...]

Watson Pharmaceuticals’ (NYSE:WPI) strategy for launching its generic version of Lipitor was the topic of conversation in its third-quarter results as Pfizer’s (NYSE:PFE) exclusive patent to the cholesterol drug nears its expiration date.During Watson’s conference call to discuss its quarterly earnings, CEO Paul Bisaro said:“Regarding the launch of generic Lipitor later this month, which will [...]

Lipitor, Pfizer’s (NYSE: PFE) best-selling drug, could be the first of the statins brought to the over-the-counter market when the company’s patent on it ends Nov. 30, according to Business Week.The news magazine cited comments made by Pfizer’s CEO Ian Read in a conference call discussing the pharmaceutical company’s third-quarter earnings.Pfizer CEO Ian Read: On [...]

Nearly one-third of Icagen (NASDAQ:ICGN) shareholders have yet to accept Pfizer‘s (NYSE:PFE) $56 million offer for the pain drug development company and the pharmaceutical giant is giving them one last chance.The expiration date for the offer at $6 per share in cash has been extended one week. But Pfizer, which extended its tender offer twice [...]

Pfizer‘s (NYSE:PFE) Icagen (NASDAQ:ICGN) acquisition is a go.After two extensions last week, Pfizer announced today that it has enough shares tendered for sale for the $56 million cash deal to proceed at the price of $6 per share. As of the 6 p.m. deadline on Sept. 2, 64 percent of outstanding shares of Icagen, representing [...]

Icagen‘s (NASDAQ:ICGN) sale to Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) hangs in the balance by 39,799 shares.That’s the minimum number of shares that need to be tendered for the $56 million sale to proceed. Pfizer extended to 6 p.m. today the expiration date of its offer. In July, Pfizer announced an agreement with Icagen to acquire the pain drug [...]

Pfizer‘s (NYSE:PFE) $56 million offer for Icagen (NASDAQ:ICGN) has been extended one more day as the pharmaceutical giant remains just shy of the minimum shares needed to execute the acquisition.Unless there is another extension, Pfizer’s Icagen offer now expires midnight tonight. As of midnight Aug. 31, the 49 percent of diluted shares tendered was 107,431 [...]

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) will not raise its offer to acquire Icagen (NASDAQ:ICGN).The pharmaceutical giant sent a letter to Icagen’s board of directors today holding firm on its purchase price of $6 per share, which amounts to $56 million. Douglas Giordano, senior vice president, worldwide business development, wrote that with the approaching Aug. 31 expiration of Pfizer’s [...]

Pharmaceutical companies on Facebook for years have had a decidedly one-way relationship on the social networking site: Pharmas could post about their drugs, but the public could not write on pharma’s walls. Now that’s changed.Facebook will no longer allow pharmaceutical companies to block comments, a healthcare social media policy change that has led some companies [...]

Two Icagen (NASDAQ:ICGN) institutional investors opposed to Pfizer‘s (NYSE:PFE) $56 million offer for the pain drug development company now say the company’s value should be nearly three times that amount.Merlin Nexus and New Leaf Venture Partners say that with potential sales of pain treatment products exceeding $2 billion a year, they value Durahm, North Carolina-based [...]