Pfizer "locks down" its CEO Ian Read, until March 2019. The board of directors of the US pharma does not want to change leadership in this year in which it is called upon to support important tests on two fronts: oncological studies and the creation of a great acquisition. Read, who is nearly 65, could retire, earning $15.7 million.
But the package proposed by Pfizer's board of directors has all the potential to delay the top manager's retirement: a 61% increase in his 2017 compensation - which was $27.9 million - and a stock bonus of worth $8 million. In return, Read will have to stay until March next year and turn down job offers from rival firms for at least two years.
During his tenure, which began in December 2010, Pfizer's shares soared 178% and the company returned $110 billion to shareholders in buybacks and dividends. All of this happened despite Pfizer losing $27 billion due to patent expirations involving several drugs. These include blockbusters such as Lipitor and Viagra.
The challenges
Absorbing a lot of Ian Read's energies will certainly be Prevenar, the vaccine against 
pneumonia, which recorded revenues of $1.53 billion in Q4 2017, higher than expectations, but which are expected to be stationary for this year. In the oncology sector, the top executive will have to pay close attention to the cancer drug Ibrance, whose sales fell by $241 million in Q4 as new competitors entered the market. The oncology industry also faces other challenges.
Bavencio, co-marketing with Merck KGaA, had disappointing results in three separate studies, which could have helped the drug expand its market with new indications. Then there is the M&A issue. Thanks to Trump's tax reform, Pfizer could repatriate 24 billion dollars and is often listed as the most credited suitor for Bristol-Myers Squibb. In his fourth quarter report, Read said that, if there were any M&A opportunities, "Pfizer would be first in line."
Daily Health Industry – March 19, 2018
Note:
Ian C. Read, 63, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer , Pfizer Inc, during the 2016 fiscal year he received a total compensation of $ 17.321.470 [source Bloomberg]
