Pfizer CEO to Visit N. Korea Thursday

The chief executive officer (CEO) of the world's largest multinational pharmaceuticals maker, Pfizer Inc., will visit North Korea later this week, following his trip to the South, its subsidiary in Seoul said Tuesday.

Jeff Kindler, 52, and some 40 Pfizer executives are scheduled to make a trip to the hospital at the inter-Korean industrial park in border town of Gaeseong on Thursday at the invitation of Kim Dong-geun, chairman of the park, Pfizer Pharmaceutical Korea said in a statement. His visit to the North aims at looking into health and medical services in the industrial park, Pfizer said.

The CEO will arrive in Seoul late Tuesday for a three-day visit. He plans to unveil the R&D vision and investment program of Pfizer and is to visit the Health-Welfare Ministry to sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in pharmaceuticals R&D.

During his first trip to South Korea, Kindler also plans to visit local research centers, including the state-run Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, to discuss possible joint projects for development of new drugs, the statement added.

The New York-based company manufactures the world's No. 1 selling blood cholesterol drug Lipitor and the well-known erectile dysfunction drug Viagra. Kindler took the helm of the company in February. Pfizer sold pharmaceuticals worth 45 trillion won throughout the world in 2006, spending 7 trillion won in R&D, the company said.