Pfizer expects 25% annual sales growth in China

Pharmaceutical firm Pfizer said it expects to increase sales in China at more than 25% a year as it takes advantage of stronger intellectual property right protection and a population increasingly suffering from the cardiovascular diseases and diabetes seen in developed countries, the Wall Street Journal reported. Allan Gabor, Pfizer's regional president of North Asia highlighted the company's Lipitor cholesterol drug and Norvasc treatment for high blood pressure as potentially strong performers in China. Pfizer also announced this week that it would partner with Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical to bring Actos, a drug for treating type-2 diabetes, to China. Gabor said Pfizer's growth in China would be helped by its recent acquisition of Wyeth, which produces consumer products such as vitamin supplements and baby formula.