Pfizer appoints new president in countdown to Steere's departure, may sue UK

US drug giant Pfizer says that its board of directors has elected HenryMcKinnell, currently president of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Group, to become the company's president and chief operating officer. Among a host of other appointments, John Niblack, currently executive vice chairman, has been elected as vice chairman of the company.

William Steere, the firm's chairman and chief executive, said that the decision to elect Dr McKinnell, who joined Pfizer in 1971, was an important "step in the process to ensure a smooth transition in the leadership of the company, looking forward toward June 2001." Mr Steere is due to retire then.

Meantime, in what has been a busy week for the company, Pfizer says that it is considering suing the UK government for loss of profits, after the High Court ruled that the Department of Health's advice to doctors not to prescribe Viagra (sildenafil) on the National Health Service until it issued further advice, was unlawful (Marketletter May 31). David Pannick, representing Pfizer, told the court that "my clients may decide to pursue a claim for damages for loss of profits caused by the circular." If damages are indeed sought, the claim could run to millions of pounds.