In 2003, Pfizer PFE +0.00% purchased Esperion Therapeutics for $1.3 billion for access to Esperion’s experimental medicine, ETC-216, an early stage synthetic, biological drug that mimicked the beneficial effects of HDL and in so doing potentially could reverse atherosclerosis. At the time the deal was viewed positively by industry analysts as it put Pfizer in a position to have three blockbuster medicines in its cardiovascular pipeline: Lipitor, ETC-216, and the CETP inhibitor, torcetrapib. As enunciated by Pfizer’s research head, ETC-216 would be used by patients in an emergency setting, followed by long-term treatment with a combination of Lipitor and torcetrapib, the latter of which dramatically raises HDL-cholesterol – the so-called good cholesterol. In justifying the deal, Pfizer claimed “we feel all these drugs are complementary, and that patients will need a variety of treatment options.”
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