Editing Pfizer (section)

=== 1980–2000: Development of Viagra, Zoloft, and Lipitor ===
In 1981, the company received approval for Diflucan ([[fluconazole]]), the first oral treatment for severe [[fungal infection]]s including [[candidiasis]], [[blastomycosis]], [[coccidiodomycosis]], [[cryptococcosis]], [[histoplasmosis]], [[dermatophytosis]], and [[pityriasis versicolor]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Fluconazole |url=https://www.drugs.com/monograph/fluconazole.html |publisher=The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220231218/https://www.drugs.com/monograph/fluconazole.html |archive-date=20 December 2016}}</ref>

In 1986, Pfizer acquired the worldwide rights to Zithromax ([[azithromycin]]), a macrolide antibiotic that is recommended by the [[Infectious Disease Society of America]] as a first line treatment for certain cases of community-acquired pneumonia, from [[Pliva]].<ref name="best">{{cite web |url=https://www.wipo.int/ipadvantage/en/details.jsp?id=906 |title=Azithromycin: A world best-selling Antibiotic |publisher=[[World Intellectual Property Organization]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Mandell LA, Wunderink RG, Anzueto A, etal |date=March 2007 |title=Infectious Diseases Society of America/American Thoracic Society consensus guidelines on the management of community-acquired pneumonia in adults |url=https://www.thoracic.org/statements/resources/mtpi/idsaats-cap.pdf |journal=Clinical Infectious Diseases |volume=44 |issue=Suppl 2 |pages=S27–72 |doi=10.1086/511159 |pmc=7107997 |pmid=17278083}}</ref>

In 1989, Pfizer scientists Peter Dunn and Albert Wood created Viagra ([[sildenafil]]) for treating [[high blood pressure]] and [[angina]], a chest pain associated with [[coronary artery disease]]. In 1991, it was patented in the United Kingdom as a heart medication. Early trials for the medication showed that it did not work for the treatment of heart disease, but volunteers in the clinical trials had increased [[erection]]s several days after taking the drug. It was patented in the United States in 1996 and received approval by the [[Food and Drug Administration]] in March 1998. In December 1998, Pfizer hired [[Bob Dole]] as a spokesperson for the drug.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2013/03/27/health/viagra-anniversary-timeline/index.html |title=Viagra: The little blue pill that could |first=Jacque |last=Wilson |work=[[CNN]] |date=March 27, 2013}}</ref> The patents for Viagra expired in 2020.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jun/09/race-to-replace-viagra-patents-erectile-dysfunction-drug-medical-research-cialis-eroxon |title=The race to replace Viagra |first=David |last=Cox |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=June 9, 2019}}</ref>

In 1991, [[William C. Steere, Jr.]] became [[chief executive officers]] of the company, succeeding [[Edmund T. Pratt Jr.]]<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-03-29-fi-903-story.html |title=Pfizer Inc., New York, has elected its... |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=March 29, 1991}}</ref>

In 1991 Pfizer also began marketing Zoloft ([[sertraline]]), an [[antidepressant]] of the [[selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor]] (SSRI) class developed nine years earlier by Pfizer chemists [[Kenneth Koe]] and Willard Welch. Sertraline is primarily prescribed for [[major depressive disorder]] in adult [[outpatients]] as well as [[obsessive-compulsive disorder]], [[panic disorder]], and [[social anxiety disorder]] in both adults and children. In 2005, the year before it became a generic drug, sales were over $3{{nbsp}}billion and over 100{{nbsp}}million people had been treated with the drug.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 2015 |title=Kenneth Koe '45 |url=https://www.reed.edu/reed-magazine/in-memoriam/obituaries/_online_only/kenneth-koe-1945.html |url-status=live |access-date=2021-05-18 |website=Reed Magazine |publisher=[[Reed College]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414055337/https://www.reed.edu/reed-magazine/in-memoriam/obituaries/_online_only/kenneth-koe-1945.html |archive-date=2022-04-14}}</ref> The patent for Zoloft expired in the summer of 2006.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Aaron |date=2006-04-04 |title=Who stands to gain when Zoloft goes generic? |work=[[CNN Money]] |url=https://money.cnn.com/2006/04/04/news/companies/antidepressants/ |access-date=2021-05-18}}</ref>

In 1996, [[Eisai (company)|Eisai]], in partnership with Pfizer, received [[Approved drug|approval]] from the [[Food and Drug Administration]] for [[donepezil]] under the brand Aricept for treatment of [[Alzheimer's disease]];<ref>{{Cite web |title=Highlights of Prescribing Information |url=https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2012/020690s035,021720s008,022568s005lbl.pdf |publisher=[[Food and Drug Administration]]}}</ref> Pfizer also received approval for Norvasc ([[amlodipine]]), an [[antihypertensive]] drug of the dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker class.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Drug Approval Package |url=https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/nda/96/19-787s007_Amlodipine.cfm |publisher=[[Food and Drug Administration]]}}</ref>

[[File:Zoloft bottles.jpg|thumb|right|Bottles of Zoloft ([[sertraline]]), an [[antidepressant]]]]
In 1997, the company entered into a co-marketing agreement with [[Warner–Lambert]] for Lipitor ([[atorvastatin]]), a [[statin]] for the treatment of [[hypercholesterolemia]]. Although atorvastatin was the fifth [[statin]] to be developed, clinical trials showed that atorvastatin caused a more dramatic reduction in [[low-density lipoprotein]] pattern C (LDL-C) than the other statin drugs. Upon its patent expiration in 2011, Lipitor was the best-selling drug ever, with approximately $125{{nbsp}}billion in sales over 14.5 years.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mehta |first=Praful |date=2011-11-29 |title=Lipitor Patent Expiration – The End of an Era for Atorvastatin Sales |work=[[IHS Markit]] |url=https://ihsmarkit.com/research-analysis/lipitor-patent-expiration-atorvastatin-sales.html |access-date=2021-05-18 |archive-date=May 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518220335/https://ihsmarkit.com/research-analysis/lipitor-patent-expiration-atorvastatin-sales.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>