Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company: The World's Largest Pharmaceutical Company

Green Chemistry Program

Performance – Applying Green Chemistry to Enhance our EHS Profile

  • Avoided 5 million gallons of solvent per year and more than 150 tons of the nickel catalyst in the manufacture of Lyrica®, a drug that treats neuropathic pain associated with diabetes or shingles, using a third-generation synthesis of the product.
  • Designed away 25,000 tons of waste per year in the manufacture of Vfend®, an antifungal medication, through a green chemistry modification in the manufacturing process. The synthesis utilizes two highly innovative types of chemistry; an ultra-efficient synthesis of a key intermediate; and the development of a novel, highly selective coupling reaction. This chemistry was among the finalists in the 2006 for the Crystal Faraday Award.
  • Developed a solvent guide for the selection of environmentally-friendly solvents which is being used by chemists and engineers throughout the organization.
  • Currently working on a reagents guide — expected to be fully deployed over the next few months.

Awards and Recognition

  • Recognized by IChemE for GC practices for Lyrica® and Vfend® in 2006. Lyrica® won the top European GC award — the Excellence in Green Chemistry and Engineering Award, and Vfend® was a finalist for the Faraday award.
  • Received the UK Institute of Chemical Engineers' (IChemE) 2003 “Crystal Faraday Award for Green Chemical Technology” for Viagra® by significantly reducing the amount of organic process wastes generated on an annual basis.
  • Received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2002 Presidential Green Chemistry Award for applying Green Chemistry to the manufacturing of Zoloft®, doubling Pfizer's product yield and significantly reducing EHS impact in the process.
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Green Chemistry Program

Learn about Pfizer’s Green Chemistry Program.

Green Buildings Program

Learn how Pfizer incorporates green practices into our facilities around the world.


"The industry gold standard for a pharmaceutical process in which solvent usage and recycling scenarios are considered would be the Viagra (sildenafil|) process... The details of this manufacturing process were disclosed, and more importantly, significant development efforts were undertaken to set this benchmark for the pharmaceutical industry." – A Green Chemistry Comparative Analysis, authored by Michael A. Kuzemko, Susan D. Van Arnum, and Henry J. Niemczyk (Organic Process Research and Development, 2007, 11, 470-476)