KARACHI: After the exit of four multinational pharmaceuticals companies from Pakistan in the last two years, the market is abuzz with rumours about departure of another foreign drug giant.

When contacted people who follow drug market closely said US-based company Pfizer has already started offloading employees, trimming marketing drive and has suspended introduction of new drugs in Pakistan.

Sources said that under cost-cutting measures, the company has shed 200 to 300 employees in the last two years owing to declining sales.

Take a look: Pfizer, Allergan to merge in $160bn tax-saving deal

Some chemists said they had also been hearing about a possible sale of Pfizer for sometime. “The company has not unveiled any new product in the last two years,” they added.

However, a spokesman for Pfizer Pakistan Ltd mailed their response to Dawn queries. The company asserted: “is fully committed to maintaining its operations in Pakistan”.

He said the drug maker was constantly striving to be efficient and effective as an organisation to meet the demands of a constantly evolving and increasingly difficult marketplace.

In 2014, the company realigned its operations after a rigorous review of its structure and competencies required for the future. “We can confirm that we had to let go of approximately 200 employees as part of this restructuring,” the spokesman said.

Pfizer believes in making investments to expand access to its medicines and as a research-based pharmaceutical company, he said, adding that the company intends to bring new and innovative therapies to Pakistan in the future as well.

“Unfortunately due to the several challenges we face in the market, our sales and growth figures have declined compared to last year,” he said, without disclosing any figures.

He said the company has moved towards creating a more focused Pfizer Pakistan, where it will optimise not only its product portfolio, but also the deployment of its resources. “We are confident that these changes will best position Pfizer Pakistan in the marketplace, allow us to be more competitive.”

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2015