Merger impact in India

Following Pfizer's acquisition of Warner-Lambert globally, the combined entity will most likely merge the Indian operations of the two merging companies. The merger of the Indian subsidiary of Pfizer and Parke Davis, in which Warner-Lambert owns a 40 per cent stake, will result in the formation of the fourth largest pharmaceutical company in India in terms of retail sales, going by November 1999 IMS retail audit data.

The combined retail sales of the merged entity will be Rs 504.9 crore with 3.69 per cent share of the Rs 13,687-crore domestic pharmaceutical market. A combination of Glaxo and SmithKline Beecham, which too are likely to merge after their parents merged global operations, have a combined retail turnover of Rs 1,087.8 crore, and is followed by Ranbaxy (Rs 666.5 crore), and Cipla (Rs 524.7 crore).

Pfizer's IMS audited sales for the 12 months ending November 1999 were Rs 326.3 crore, and Parke Davis recorded a retail turnover of Rs 178.6 crore. Pfizer, ranked seventh, has grown 16.5 per cent during this period while the growth for Parke Davis is 7.7 per cent. Parke Davis is ranked 24^th in terms of retail sales.

The merged entity will have an annual prescription base of 8.8 million or 2.37 per cent of the total prescription base. Pfizer products generated 4.99 million prescriptions between December 1998 and November 1999 (IMS medical audit), while Parke Davis has an annual prescription base of 3.85 million.

See top brands of Pfizer and Parke Davis
See top therapeutic classes of Pfizer and Parke Davis

The acquisition will bloat Pfizer's product portfolio with top selling brands such as Benadryl, Gelusil MPS, Chloromycetin, Calcal and Abdec. Some of these brands – Benadryl and Gelusil MPS – are on the verge of being categorised as over-the-counter products