At Pfizer, A Split A Decade In The Making

It was back in 2010, when Lipitor was edging close to losing its patent protection, that debate erupted among Pfizer Inc. investors over whether the pharma giant could unlock trapped value by splitting up the company into an innovative, R&D-focused company and a cash-generating established products business. The businesses were reorganized, the decision was considered, delayed, considered again, scrapped in 2016, and now nine years later, it is poised to happen.

Pfizer announced on 29 July that it will split off its Upjohn off-patent branded and generics business and merge it with Mylan NV to establish a top generic drug...