Pfizer Buys Back Former Wyeth Plant

Pfizer has exercised its option to buy back a plant in Rouses Point, N.Y., that Wyeth sold to Akrimax in 2008. Wyeth, which Pfizer acquired in 2009, sold the facility in response to a drop in demand for its menopause treatment Premarin. Akrimax leased the facility to Wyeth, which continued manufacturing Premarin as well as over-the-counter drugs and a range of finished-dose pharmaceuticals for Akrimax. Akrimax had hoped to launch a contract manufacturing business at the site but failed to secure enough contracts to make the venture feasible. Last year, Merck & Co. bought back a plant in Riverside, Pa., from PRWT Services under similar circumstances (C&EN, Aug. 16, 2010, page 24).