Post-merger, Wyeth's Great Valley site to close

Wyeth's operations in Great Valley will close next year, but its Collegeville facility will remain open as the result of the pharmaceutical giant's merger yesterday with New York-based Pfizer Inc.

The big question remains: How many of an expected 20,000 job cuts at the new, combined company will occur in this region?

The decision to keep most of the Collegeville facility, which has been Wyeth's longtime pharmaceutical headquarters, does not mean that all 3,600 employees there will keep their jobs. Nor does it mean that all 900 Great Valley employees will lose theirs.

Pfizer spokesman Christopher Loder emphasized that "we are maintaining a significant presence in Pennsylvania," but he would not put numbers or dates on cuts at specific facilities.

As Wyeth employees left the Great Valley facility yesterday afternoon in cold and driving rain, most refused to comment.

Other employees, who asked that their names not be used, said they expected to learn their fates by the end of the month.

State Sens. John C. Rafferty Jr. and Andrew E. Dinniman and State Rep. Mike Vereb, who, along with representatives of Gov. Rendell, lobbied Pfizer to keep all current jobs in Pennsylvania, said they were hopeful that Pfizer would retain most of the 4,500 total jobs.

"There are no guarantees that all the jobs will stay there, but Pfizer representatives have told us that they want to keep a presence in Pennsylvania," Rafferty (R., Montgomery) said yesterday.

In a statement, Dinniman (D., Chester) expressed hope that most of the Great Valley jobs would be transferred to Collegeville. "The situation will only be fully clear in the months ahead," he said. "So far, it looks good, but we have to remain vigilant so that what looks good turns out to be even better."

Pfizer said in a statement that the Collegeville facility would be the leadership center for its specialty-business unit, which includes vaccines and more than 20 medicines in 11 disease areas.

Geno Germano, who had been president of Wyeth's U.S. and pharmaceutical business units in Collegeville, will head Pfizer's specialty businesses.

Pfizer's corporate headquarters will remain in New York, along with its emerging-markets, established-products, oncology, and primary-care businesses.

Madison, N.J., which had been Wyeth's headquarters, will house the combined company's diversified businesses, animal health, Capsugel, consumer health care, and nutrition businesses.

Existing operations at 200 and 400 Campus Dr. in Collegeville will be consolidated into the main facility there in the next eight months. Pfizer also will consolidate the functions housed at the Great Valley campus - Wyeth's information-technology employees and some others - at Collegeville.

The new company will be under immense pressure to lower costs because Pfizer's blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor, which currently brings in $13 billion in yearly sales, loses patent protection in 2011.

Yesterday, Moody's Investors Service lowered the long-term rating of Pfizer debt to "A1" from "Aa2."

"The downgrade . . . reflects excellent strategic benefits of the Wyeth acquisition, offset by higher financial leverage assumed in the transaction," Moody's senior vice president Michael Levesque said.

Fitch Ratings Inc. also downgraded three of its Pfizer ratings.

Wyeth sells several blockbusters, including biotech drug Enbrel for rheumatoid arthritis, menopause treatments Premarin and Prempro, Centrum vitamins, Advil pain reliever, and the top-selling vaccine in history, Prevnar for children's pneumococcal diseases. They will join Pfizer's impotence pill Viagra, the Alzheimer's drug Aricept, and pain treatments Celebrex and Lyrica.

The two companies completed their merger yesterday and will begin operating as a single company under the Pfizer name today.

After financial stock markets closed yesterday, Wyeth common stock (ticker WYE) ceased trading.

Pfizer shares closed yesterday at $17.66, up 29 cents. Wyeth shares closed at $50.39, up 35 cents.