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Ahmet Goksun
President of Pfizer Korea |
By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Global pharmaceutical giant Pfizer’s domestic market share of its top seller Lipitor slipped nearly 15 percent in just one month after local drugmakers released generics of the cholesterol-lowering pill in June. But the head of the Korean operation isn’t sweating over it.
``There have been some entries, but it's still very early,'' Ahmet Goksun, president of Pfizer Korea, said in a Korea Times interview Thursday, as he stressed that Lipitor's intellectual property dispute is still not over.
A patent court in late June turned down the global maker's claims that five local pharmaceutical companies breached its patent for the popular drug. The original patent for Lipitor, the world's best-selling drug, expired in May last year, but Pfizer extended it to 2013 through modifications. The company is currently appealing to the Supreme Court.
``The important thing is hyperlipidemia, and the focus should be on appropriate management of the symptom,'' he said. ``Lipitor is a globally leading medication in this regard.''
Hyperlipidemia is a primary risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and the world's biggest drugmaker generated $12.7 billion in global sales last year from the blockbuster drug used to treat the condition.
Referring to local firms' generic products, Goksun stressed that his company is ``not hypersensitive about the situation,'' adding that he has every reason to believe that Pfizer will continue to play an active role in the industry.
Having worked in Pfizer Korea for almost 10 years through two separate assignments, the 54-year-old executive said the nation's pharmaceutical industry has matured significantly over the past 40 years. The U.S. firm has been present here since 1969.
``Korea has an extremely competent healthcare system, which is basically one of the reasons behind the people's long life expectancy,'' he said. Koreans' life expectancy is 79.1 years, slightly exceeding the OCED average, according to recent data.
Goksun added that Korea's Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) is one of the most competitive regulatory bodies he has worked with.
``If a medicine is authorized by KFDA, I have every reason to believe necessary tests have been done,'' he said.
These reasons and the talented human resource pool encourage Pfizer to expand its research and development (R&D) efforts in Korea, he explained.
The company's R&D investment went from 19 billion won in 2006, and 27.8 billion won last year to an estimated 34 billion won this year, according to data.
The country manager said although Pfizer doesn't have plans to build production plants here, R&D investments are much more meaningful.
Instead of building big automated factories, he said it's better to spend a comparable amount of money on hiring more people and carrying out clinical studies. Last year Pfizer selected Korea, the U.S., Poland, France and Argentina as its core research sites until 2010.
On corporate regulations, Goksun said Korea's ambition to develop the life sciences industry should be reflected and remain consistent with policies that govern the pharmaceutical industry.
``Sometimes, R&D is welcomed, but products made from R&D aren't welcomed,'' he said, ``but this isn't unique to Korea.''
Pfizer Korea, which currently employs 570 people, last year saw a revenue of 396.8 billion won.
jhan@koreatimes.co.kr
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