Pfizer Q2: All But 3 Drugs in Decline; R&D Spend Lowest Since 2007

(MoneyWatch)  Sales of every single drug sold by Pfizer declined in Q2 2009 except for three: depression pill Lyrica, cancer treatment Sutent and the tiny Revatio franchise. Pfizer blamed foreign currency headwinds as it reported sales of $10.9 billion, down 9 percent; and net income of $2.3 billion, a decline of 19 percent.

Without that, Pfizer claimed, the company would have had revenue growth:

On a constant currency basis, all of our Pharmaceutical units and Animal Health generated revenue growth during the quarter...

Pfizer did not quantify what that growth could have been but it must have been anemic. Abbott Labs posted sales growth despite weak foreign currency revenues and J&J grew its U.S. sales despite weak foreign revenues that dragged down its overall sales growth.

At Pfizer, both foreign and domestic segments declined in sales, which means that what "growth" there was came from abroad but after being translated into dollars resulted in a decline -- the foreign growth, in other words, was not large enough to offset the 5 percent decline in U.S. dollar sales.

More worrying still: Pfizer spent just $1.6 billion on R&D -- less than at any time in two years. As Pfizer has been axing domestic research in favor of foreign labs, this is not surprising -- the forex effect will make R&D spend look lower when it may be higher. But still, what can a company that expects $48 billion a year in revenues expect to get from its pipeline at just $1.6 billion a quarter?

Lastly, more headaches for Pfizer's push into generics: Kindler said that all the units saw "growth" except for Established Products:

... which manages a portfolio of products that have an expected decline in revenues at this stage of their lifecycle.

Pfizer is expecting big things from its generics unit, but as BNET has noted before, it's starting to look more and more like an uphill struggle.

• Previously:
• Did Pfizer Violate Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in Philippine "Bribe" Flap?
• Pfizer Exec Gets 6 Months' Home Confinement for Off-Label Bextra Sales
• Pfizer Will Fall Under Philippines Price Control; Company Ads Deny "Bribe" Attempt
• "Bribe" or No, Pfizer May Get Its Way in Philippines
• Pfizer "Bribe" Scandal in Philippines Heats Up; Company Offered Posters to the President
• UPDATED: Pfizer Accused of "Bribe" to Stave Off Price Control Law in Philippines
• Pfizer Catches Flak for Giving Drug Discounts to Some But Not All Filipinos
• Pfizer to Close S.F. Biotech Center in Favor of Unit Accused in Patent Suit
• Pfizer Patent Suit Could Make Elan Bapineuzamab Talks Go a Whole Lot Easier
• Pfizer's Foreign Viagra Ads: Mailman Jokes; Space Sperm and the Fountain of Youth
• Why Pfizer's Generics Unit Faces an Uphill Battle
• Post Merger, Pfizer-Wyeth Might Be Structured Like J&J