Ian Read, the CEO for pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, plans to step aside at the end of this year and hand his position to Albert Bourla, the company’s chief operating officer.
The change in leadership is coming at a time when the pharmaceutical industry is under scrutiny by the White House and Congress for price hikes. President Trump specifically called out Pfizer in July for raising its list prizes, saying it and other companies “must be ashamed.” In response, Pfizer delayed planned price increases on dozens of products until the end of the year.
Pfizer & others should be ashamed that they have raised drug prices for no reason. They are merely taking advantage of the poor & others unable to defend themselves, while at the same time giving bargain basement prices to other countries in Europe & elsewhere. We will respond!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2018
Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, Read will become executive chairman and Bourla will become CEO, according to a company statement issued Monday. Bourla has held various positions at Pfizer in his 25 years there, and Read has held his position since 2010.
Pfizer has suffered more than $23 billion in sales losses in recent years as competitors brought rival, less-expensive generics to market.
“The company has come out of the abyss it was in, and is really poised for growth,” Read said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “Given my age, it’s time for me to move on.”
The company is well-known for its cholesterol drug Lipitor and its pain drug Lyrica, which will lose its exclusivity by the end of this year. The company has more than 15 other drugs that are under development, each of which is expected to gain more than $1 billion in sales.
Pfizer reported $52.5 billion in sales last year, a 1 percent decline from the previous year.
