Drug giant Pfizer Inc. today said that its third quarter profit fell 14 per cent as sales plunged, mainly due to U.S. generic competition to cholesterol fighter Lipitor, long the world’s top-selling drug.

Sales of Lipitor, which is still under patent in some other countries, dropped 71 per cent to $749 million.

It had plenty of company: Sales for more than two-thirds of Pfizer’s medicines declined, most by 10 per cent or more and mainly because of generic competition. That cut prescription drug revenue by about $2 billion.

But even Prevnar 13, a shot against ear infections, deadly meningitis and other bacterial diseases that is the top-selling vaccine in history, saw sales fall by 12 per cent, to $868 million. It’s still protected by patents, so the drop could indicate that sales have hit a wall as most children in developing countries have already been vaccinated.

The New York-based maker of pain reliever Lyrica said net income was $3.21 billion, or 43 cents per share. That was down from $3.74 billion, or 48 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding one-time items, earnings were 53 cents per share. Analysts expected 52 cents. The items included a gain from a tax settlement and charges for restructuring, productivity initiatives and the gradual write-down in the value of some assets.

Revenue fell 16 per cent to $13.98 billion, well below expectations for $14.66 billion. Unfavourable exchange rates cut the revenue by 4 per cent.

Revenue from prescription drugs dropped 18 per cent, to $12.12 billion, as four of its five segments fared poorly.

Sales were down sharply for primary care and specialty care medicines and down by a percent or two for cancer drugs and drugs sold in emerging markets such as China and India.

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