Drugmaker Pfizer topped off a difficult third quarter with news that it’s scrapping a closely watched experimental cholesterol drug, partly due to expectations insurers would limit access so much that it wouldn’t make much money, a possible bad omen for the pharmaceutical industry.
The biggest U.S.-based drugmaker on Tuesday reported its quarterly profit plunged 38% as higher spending and a slew of acquisition-related charges more than offset higher sales. The mediocre results missed Wall Street expectations and Pfizer lowered the top end of its 2016 profit forecast.
