Pfizer Inc: Exploring Our History
2000–Present

In a major expansion of its commitment to improving health care for low-income Americans, Pfizer introduces The Pfizer For Living™ Share Card Program. The program provides qualified low-income Medicare beneficiaries with access to up to a 30-day supply of any prescription medicine for a flat rate of $15 per prescription. By April 2004, over half a million seniors enrolled in the program and nearly five million prescriptions were filled.

Pfizer becomes the first U.S. pharmaceutical company and first top-ten company on the New York Stock Exchange to join the U.N. Global Compact, an international network that promotes good corporate citizenship by fostering partnerships between companies, U.N. agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), trade unions and academic institutions.

Pfizer invests an industry leading $5.1 billion in research and development and launches Vfend^® (voriconazole), an orally and intravenously administered antifungal indicated for treatment of serious fungal infections.

The Pfizer Foundation announces the launch of a three-year initiative to provide grants to support training and capacity building for HIV/AIDS in developing countries. Twelve organizations receive grants through the International HIV/AIDS Health Literacy Grants Program.

Hank McKinnell, CEO and Chairman of Pfizer, announces the Global Health Fellows program at the World AIDS Conference in Barcelona - a call to action for Pfizer colleagues to volunteer in developing countries for up to six months on HIV/AIDS projects. In 2003, the first eighteen Global Health Fellows are sent into the field.

Pfizer Inc is selected by Dow Jones and Co. to be included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is the best-known stock market barometer in the world.

Caduet^® (amlodipine besylate and atorvastatin calcium), the first single pill that treats both high blood pressure and high cholesterol, is launched.

Pfizer Helpful Answers^®, the pharmaceutical industry's most comprehensive prescription medicines access initiative is launched, enabling America's 45 million uninsured to obtain Pfizer medicines free or at significant savings.

The Infectious Diseases Institute, a new medical facility providing state of the art training and treatment of HIV/ADS and other infectious diseases, opens its doors on the grounds of Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. Pfizer Inc and the Pfizer Foundation, as part of a unique public-private partnership with a number of organizations, contribute more than $15 million to support construction of the building.

Pfizer's roster of outstanding drugs grows with the launch of Sutent^® (sunitinib malate), a new, oral, multikinase inhibitor to treat patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), or advanced kidney cancer, and gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) after disease progression on, or intolerance to, imatinib mesylate.

Pfizer launches Eraxis™ (anidulafungin), a new medicine to treat certain infections caused by Candida, a yeast-like fungus that can cause serious infections in hospitalized patients or patients with compromised immune systems.

Chantix™ (varenicline), a prescription medicine to help adults stop smoking, is launched by Pfizer.

In July 2006, the Pfizer Board of Directors names Jeffrey B. Kindler Chief Executive Officer. Kindler succeeds Hank McKinnell, who will remain Chairman of the Board until his retirement in February, 2007.

Jeff Kindler, Chairman and CEO of Pfizer, announces the next step in the company's evolution and outlines the company's plan to establish smaller operating units designed to enhance innovation and accountability, while drawing upon the advantages of Pfizer's scale and resources. These customer-focused business units allow Pfizer to better anticipate and respond to customers' and patients' needs, as well responds to changes in the marketplace. Learn more about Pfizer's Business Units (link to "Meet our BU Leaders" page).

Pfizer launches a new Medicine Safety Website to help healthcare professionals and patients make better informed decisions about treatment options.

Grameen Health, an affiliate of Grameen Bank, the pioneering micro-financing organization in Bangladesh that shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for its work to alleviate poverty, partners with Pfizer to identify sustainable models for healthcare delivery in the developing world.

Pfizer launches its Global Regenerative Medicine Unit. The unit is dedicated to understanding the biology of stem cells and the opportunity these cells provide, to discover and develop a new generation of regenerative medicines that may prevent disability, repair failing organs and treat degenerative diseases.

Pfizer enters into an agreement with Medivation to develop and commercialize an investigational medicine, Dimebon, for treating Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease.