Pfizer's Kindler can't quash mega-deal talk

Kids who want ice cream won't take no for answer. Neither, apparently, will some Pfizer investors, who are clamoring again for a big acquisition just days after CEO Jeff Kindler said he wouldn't play Let's Make a Deal. Mega-M&A is just too disruptive, Kindler said at last Wednesday's analyst confab. And he should know: He's leading a company that's still absorbing Warner-Lambert and Pharmacia.

Nonetheless. A CreditSuisse analyst maintains that "a large scale deal may be the best option" for shoring up the company as it nears the loss of its biggest money-maker, Lipitor, to generic competition. And the analyst has a couple of ideas about which companies to pursue, namely Wyeth and Amgen.

So, the Wall Street Journal's Health Blog has posted a basketball tournament-style bracket of pharma deals, pairing Pfizer with Amgen and Merck with Schering-Plough, plus a few other big names we'll leave it to you to find out. We won't be placing any bets on these deals, but who knows. Considering the state of the market these days, anything might happen.

- see the item [1] at the WSJ Health Blog

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