Pfizer
One of the oldest and largest pharmaceutical companies in North America.
Pfizer Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Erhart, it is one of the oldest pharmaceutical companies in North America. The company develops and produces medication and vaccines for immunology, oncology, cardiology, endocrinology, and neurology, and is ranked fifth on the list of largest biomedical companies by revenue.
- founders
- Charles Pfizer and Charles F. Erhart
- headquarters
- The Spiral, Manhattan, New York City
- field
- Pharmaceutical and biotechnology
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- Development of Viagra, Lipitor, and the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (Comirnaty)
Lore & Background
The business initially produced chemical compounds, including the antiparasitic santonin, and grew through citric acid production in the 1880s. During World War I, a shortage of calcium citrate led the company to develop a fermentation process for citric acid using a fungus, which later enabled mass production of penicillin during World War II. The company later developed or co-marketed major drugs including Viagra (sildenafil), Zoloft (sertraline), Lipitor (atorvastatin), and Lyrica (pregabalin). Pfizer's history includes a public-private partnership with New York City in the 1970s and 1980s to revitalize the area around its Brooklyn plant, which closed in 2009. The company also faced a setback in 2006 when it ceased development of torcetrapib after a clinical trial showed higher mortality in patients taking the drug with Lipitor.
Reader's Guide
Pfizer's significance lies in its long history of pharmaceutical innovation and its role in shaping modern medicine. Pfizer also played a key role in the COVID-19 pandemic with Comirnaty, a vaccine developed with BioNTech. The company's products span immunology, oncology, cardiology, and neurology, and in 2025 its top-selling drugs included Eliquis, Prevnar, and Vyndaqel.
Did You Know?
- In 2006, Pfizer ceased development of torcetrapib after a clinical trial showed a 60% higher mortality rate in patients taking it with Lipitor.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Pfizer?
Pfizer is an American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company that creates medications and vaccines across a range of medical specialties. It stands as one of the oldest and largest biomedical firms operating in North America.
What is Pfizer most famous for?
Pfizer is widely recognized for bringing Viagra and Lipitor to the market, two of the most prescribed drugs of the modern era. It also earned enormous global attention for co-developing the Comirnaty mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 alongside BioNTech.
Where is Pfizer headquartered?
The company's corporate home is a building called The Spiral, located in Manhattan, New York City. Despite its U.S. base, Pfizer operates as a multinational entity with a presence on every inhabited continent.
What medical fields does Pfizer work in?
Pfizer develops treatments spanning immunology, oncology, cardiology, endocrinology, and neurology. By revenue, it currently ranks as the fifth-largest biomedical company in the world.
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