Pfizer Inc.
Explore Pfizer
Core profile pages, annual revenue records, and related research hubs for this company.
Pfizer Inc.
Explore Pfizer
Core profile pages, annual revenue records, and related research hubs for this company.
Company History
Founded 1849 in New York, New York
Pfizer was founded in 1849 in Brooklyn by Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart as a fine chemicals business. The company became a pharmaceutical manufacturer and later a global drug developer through fermentation, antibiotics, sales infrastructure, and acquisitions.
Charles Pfizer built the company that bears his name into one of the most important specialty chemical manufacturers in the United States during the second half of the 19th century. His scientific background in organic chemistry allowed him to develop proprietary manufacturing processes for compounds that were otherwise imported from Europe at considerable cost, creating genuine competitive advantages in markets where technical expertise was the primary barrier to entry. Pfizer's most strategically significant early business decision was the investment in fermentation technology for citric acid production, which built institutional capabilities that proved decisive in the company's transition to pharmaceutical manufacturing during World War II—four decades after his death in 1906. He was a naturalized American citizen who built his business reputation on quality and technical reliability, establishing a commercial character that the company maintained long after his personal leadership ended.
Charles Erhart's role in Pfizer's founding is less celebrated than his cousin's, partly because the company carries Charles Pfizer's name and partly because his commercial contributions were less visible than the scientific achievements that drove the company's growth. But the pairing of Erhart's commercial instincts with Pfizer's chemistry expertise represented the classic founding team complementarity that characterized many successful 19th century American manufacturing enterprises. Erhart died in 1891, predeceasing Charles Pfizer by fifteen years, and his interest in the company passed to his family. The company's original name—Charles Pfizer and Company—reflected the naming conventions of the era but understated the genuine partnership that characterized its founding. Historical accounts of early Pfizer consistently credit both founders with the operational and commercial decisions that established the company's reputation for reliability and quality in the specialty chemicals market.
Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart founded the company in Brooklyn.
Pfizer helped industrialize penicillin production during World War II.
Pfizer acquired Warner-Lambert, adding Lipitor.
Pfizer and BioNTech brought Comirnaty through emergency authorization.
Pfizer completed the $43 billion Seagen acquisition.
Chris Boshoff became Chief Scientific Officer and President, Research & Development effective January 1, 2025.
Pfizer reported $62.579 billion of FY2025 revenue.
Pfizer pursued Warner-Lambert to acquire the Lipitor (atorvastatin) cholesterol-lowering statin franchise, which was already on track to become the best-selling drug in history at the time of the acquisition. The deal was structured as a hostile takeover after Warner-Lambert had announced a competing merger agreement with American Home Products (later Wyeth), and Pfizer successfully outbid with a $111 billion all-stock offer. The acquisition also brought significant consumer healthcare brands including Listerine, Benadryl, and Halls.
Pfizer acquired Pharmacia Corporation for approximately $60 billion in 2003 to add the Celebrex (celecoxib) COX-2 inhibitor franchise, the cancer drug Camptosar, ophthalmology products, and a substantial pipeline. The acquisition was also motivated by post-Lipitor diversification concerns and the need to add research capabilities and marketed products to offset anticipated future patent expirations across the combined portfolio.
Pfizer acquired Wyeth for $68 billion during the financial crisis of 2009, using the depressed asset valuations of the period to complete what was then one of the largest pharmaceutical acquisitions in history. The primary strategic targets were the Prevnar pneumococcal vaccine franchise, the Enbrel (etanercept) biologics franchise for rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory conditions, the Effexor and Pristiq antidepressants, and Wyeth's substantial consumer healthcare business.
Pfizer acquired Medivation for $14 billion in 2016 to secure Xtandi (enzalutamide), an androgen receptor inhibitor for prostate cancer that was among the most commercially promising oncology drugs of the decade. The acquisition was Pfizer's first major commitment to oncology as a primary strategic growth focus rather than a secondary therapeutic area, signaling a deliberate shift toward cancer treatment as an organizational priority.
Pfizer acquired Seagen for approximately $43 billion in December 2023 to secure leadership in antibody-drug conjugate technology, the fastest-growing drug modality in oncology. Seagen's four commercially approved ADC products—Adcetris, Padcev, Tivdak, and Tukysa—provided immediate revenue contribution while the ADC platform technology provided the foundation for Pfizer's oncology pipeline strategy through 2030. The acquisition represented Pfizer's response to the anticipated loss of exclusivity on Ibrance and the broader need to establish a new oncology platform capable of generating multi-billion-dollar revenues independent of CDK4/6 inhibitor franchise sustainability.
The company was founded in 1849 in Brooklyn, New York, by Charles Pfizer and his cousin Charles Erhart, two German immigrants. Their first successful product was an anti-parasitic drug called Santonin, which they blended with almond-toffee to make it taste better.
Massive scaling of Penicillin. While Pfizer didn't invent penicillin, they were the first company to figure out how to mass-produce it using deep-tank fermentation. They supplied the vast majority of the penicillin used by Allied troops during the Normandy landings, transforming them into an industrial powerhouse.
Lipitor and Viagra. Lipitor (a cholesterol-lowering statin) became the best-selling drug in the history of the world, generating over $160 billion in lifetime sales. Viagra (originally tested as a heart medication) became a massive cultural and financial phenomenon in the late 1990s.
The strategy of 'Mega-Mergers.' To replace the revenue of older drugs whose patents were expiring, Pfizer spent massive amounts of money buying other huge pharma companies. They bought Warner-Lambert in 2000 (to acquire Lipitor) and Wyeth in 2009 for $68 billion (to acquire the Prevnar vaccine).
Through a massive partnership. Pfizer partnered with BioNTech (a small German biotech startup that invented the mRNA technology). Pfizer provided the massive clinical trial infrastructure, manufacturing capability, and global distribution network, delivering the first FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccine in record time.