Pfizer Inc. (PFE) plans to partner with China’s Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. to produce low- cost generics for the world’s third-biggest drug market. Hisun shares rose the most in seven months in Shanghai.
Pfizer is looking for new sources of revenue before it loses U.S. patent protection in November for Lipitor, the cholesterol medication that was the world’s best-selling drug last year with $10.7 billion in sales. Off-patent medicines, including branded generics, are one of the fastest growing segments in the global pharmaceutical market, Pfizer and Hisun said in a joint press release issued late yesterday.
