As Canadian Reimportation Debate Rages, Shareholders Warn Pfizer on Prices;

Company is Maker of Lipitor, Norvasc, Celebrex, Zoloft and Other Top Drugs.

Religious and other concerned shareholders announced preliminary results showing that approximately five percent of shareholders at pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) today supported a first-year proxy resolution urging the company to take steps to control the costs of its medications, which include such top 50 prescriptions as Lipitor, Norvasc, Celebrex, Xalatan, Zoloft and Glucotrol. 

The five percent proxy vote outcome is considered a major victory since a first-year support level of only 3 percent is required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for this proxy resolution to be reintroduced at Pfizer in 2005.

As the national debate rages about reimportation of lower-priced drugs from Canada, the resolution filed by Trinity Health, The Dominican Sisters of Adrian, Michigan and 20 co-filers - all members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) points out: "Access to pharmaceutical products is an essential component of adequate health are for all Americans ... A report by Families USA, using data from the Pennsylvania Pharmaceutical Association Contract for the Elderly Program, found that on average, prices for the 50 most-prescribed drugs to the elderly rose nearly three-and-one-half times the rate of inflation from January 2002 to January 2003, compared to just under three times in the previous year ... In 2002-03, the [Pfizer] price increase of Lipitor (20mg) was 4.5 times the CPI; Celebrex 200 mg: 2.6 times the CPI, Norvasc 5 mg: twice the CPI, Xalatan: 3.3 times, the CPI: Zoloft 50 mmg: 2.8 times the CPI, Glucotrol XL 10 mg: 7.1 times the CPI ..."

Margaret Weber, the coordinator of corporate responsibility for the Dominican Sisters of Adrian, said: "Today's vote proves that Pfizer needs to recognize that the current climate is one in which U.S. drug companies have to be responsive on issues of price and access. Shareholders showed today that they do not want to suffer as companies like Pfizer continue to be used as political footballs in the debate over reimportation of prescription medications from Canada. We believe that prudent action on charges to U.S. customers would alleviate much of the current pressure on Pfizer and the companies like it."

Pfizer also faced ICCR-backed shareholder resolutions on the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the use of shareholder resources for partisan political purposes. Those resolutions received supportive vote totals of 9.8 percent and 10.9 percent, respectively.
 
ABOUT THE GROUPS

The Dominican Sisters of Adrian, Michigan are a community of over 1000 women religious, who in 1975 established their Portfolio Advisory Board (PAB) to monitor its corporate investments. The Dominican Sisters of Adrian strive through a variety of corporate activities to make corporations accountable for their impact on people, communities and the environment. PAB members monitor the Sisters stock holdings, attend shareholder meetings, file shareholder resolutions and dialogue with corporate officials and other shareholders.

Based in Novi, Mich., Trinity Health is the country's third largest Catholic healthcare system based on net patient services revenue. Sponsored by Catholic Health Ministries, the system operates 45 hospitals (29 owned, 16 managed), 402 outpatient facilities, numerous long-term care facilities, home health offices and hospice programs, a health care architectural firm, and a physician practice consulting company. Trinity Health also owns and operates Care Choices, a health maintenance organization, and Preferred Choices, a preferred provider organization. Employing 43,900 full-time staff, Trinity Health reported $5.0 billion in unrestricted revenue and more than $438 million in community benefit ministry in fiscal year 2003. Trinity Health received the prestigious National Quality Health Care Award for the year 2004 from the National Committee for Quality Health Care (NCQHC). For more information about Trinity Health, visit www.trinity-health.org.

The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility is an association of 275 faith-based institutional investors, including national denominations, religious communities, pension funds, endowments, hospital corporations, economic development funds and publishing companies. ICCR and its members press companies to be socially and environmentally responsible. Each year ICCR-member religious institutional investors sponsor over 100 shareholder resolutions on major social and environmental issues. The combined portfolio value of ICCR's member organizations is estimated to be $110 billion.