Pfizer, the world's biggest pharmaceutical company, has earmarked $17 billion to spend on new products and technologies over the next 30 months.

The company recently sold its consumer products business to Johnson & Johnson for $16.6 billion and is focusing on its core human health business after a challenging few years.

The pharma company is being hit hard by patent expiries and in the four years to 2008, it will have lost about a third of its Human Health division's revenue.

Chief executive Hank McKinnell said: "Many companies could not survive such a profound loss of revenue. The strong performance of our in-line product portfolio and the large potential of our new-product pipeline demonstrate our ability to generate substantial new revenues to create the next-generation Pfizer."

The company has seen strong double-digit performance from several existing products in the second-quarter of this year, including its cholesterol-lowering star Lipitor, arthritic pain treatment Celebrex  and the anti-psychotic Geodon.

Already the biggest-selling drug in the world, Lipitor's sales increased by 9% in the quarter to $3.1 billion and Pfizer is aiming for a full-year sales for the product of $13 billion.

President of Pfizer Human Health Karen Katen admitted this target was a 'stretch goal' in light of the introduction of cheaper, generic versions of a rival statin, Merck's Zocor (simvastatin).

"While our Lipitor sales target remains ambitious, we believe we can achieve it," she said. "We have a strong clinical platform that clearly differentiates Lipitor from all other agents."

Sales of Lipitor made a significant contribution to Pfizer's second-quarter revenue, which grew ahead of expectations, increasing by 3% between 2005 and 2006 to $11.7 billion. The company is aiming for full-year sales growth in 2007 and 2008 in the high single digits.

pharmafocus@wiley.co.uk