Jan. 13--Martin Mackay, president of Pfizer Inc.'s PharmaTherapeutics research division, told a healthcare conference Tuesday in San Francisco that the company received "great additions to the pipeline" when it acquired Wyeth Pharmaceuticals late last year.

Speaking at the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Mackay said Pfizer expects big things from Wyeth's Prevnar (product,search) 13 pneumococcal vaccine. Federal regulators have yet to give final approval to the therapy, but Pfizer is expecting peak annual sales to reach $4.5 billion -- including $1.5 billion for a formula it hopes to sell to adults sometime this year -- according to Mackay, who spoke to stock analysts during a Webcast made available online.

Mackay said Pfizer wanted to augment its drug pipeline by adding Wyeth discoveries to key areas in which its scientists -- including nearly 5,000 in Groton and New London -- already were working. These areas included neuroscience and metabolic diseases, which are studied in Groton, as well as pain, inflammation and oncology, which are centered at other Pfizer research sites, he said.

In integrating Wyeth into Pfizer, the company reduced the combined portfolio of new medicines being studied by about 25 percent, Mackay said, while shifting the number of programs in high-priority research areas from 50 percent to 70 percent.

"I believe it should never be 100 percent, nor do I believe that 50 percent was the right place," Mackay said.

At the same time, according to Mackay, Pfizer has made a strategic move to biologics and vaccines. Before the Wyeth deal was finalized, small-molecule pills dominated Pfizer's portfolio 3-to-1 compared to large-molecule biologics and vaccines, he said, but the newly reconstituted company now has a portfolio that is much more evenly divided.

"We are still working on individual scientists to make sure that they know in a rapid space of time if they will be part of the go-forward organization," Mackay added.

Mackay pointed to several new changes of philosophy in the R&D organization, one of which is to begin targeting special patient populations that can be cured by particular drug targets.

"Our challenge in research and development is to spread this patient piece in all of our programs," he said. "Clearly, oncology is setting the pace."

Another change is Pfizer's increase reliance on relationships with partners, big and small, he said.

The partners represent "different types of deals to get at the heart of what we're trying to do to discover and develop the next generation of important medicines," Mackay said. "I think you'll find us great partners to work with."

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