Saturday, November 10, 2012

PFIZER & MERCK: CEO MIRROR

As lawyer Kindler loses court battles, army man Clark strengthens his defences with a flanking strategy

Instead, Kindler is showing more interest in drugs, which are still in the mid-stage trial process and do not have the capability to replace Lipitor. According to a report by Morgan Stanley Research North America, Kindler’s decision to not enter into any mega deal following the disruption and negative impact to R&D productivity due to the last two acquisitions is encouraging. But in doing so, Kindler has also dismissed another alternative to increase Pfizer’s product pipeline. Interestingly, as Kindler was announcing these plans on March 5, 2008, stock prices of Pfizer fell at a 52-week low on the same day, hitting a low of $21.80.

If one had to rate the performance of the two CEOs, it was apparent from their compensations in 2007. Where on one hand Clark got compensation valued at $14.7 million in 2007, Kindler was just a little behind and received compensation worth $12.6 million the same year, but considering the fact that both marked an increase of 10% and 80% respectively from 2006 summarises their performance. Most of Clark’s compensation came from the value of stock and options granted to him in 2007, out of which $8.23 million was by virtue of three grants made in 2007, according to the proxy filing with the SEC. As for Kindler, his bonus, too, was reduced to $3.1 million, from $3.3 million in 2006.

The dissimilarity between the two CEOs is also evident in the reaction of the stock market towards their performance. While Pfizer’s stock price was languishing at $20.57 on March 17, 2008 (a drop of 21.2% since Kindler assumed office), Merck’s stock price was at a robust $41.85 as on the same date, which represented a rise of about 21.3% since Clark took over the baton.

So, well… while the legal beagle is finding himself helpless against Pfizer’s expiring patents and increasing competition from low-cost generic drugs, the army man has proved to be more than his weight in gold for Merck, with his visionary capabilities and swift, effective decision making abilities. For crisis-ridden pharma companies, there are definitely a few points to take home.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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