Jan. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Pfizer Inc. wants to sell to other drugmakers 100 experimental medicines for conditions ranging from obesity to high cholesterol.

The world’s biggest drugmaker is cleaning out its chemical compound closet and firing 800 researchers, or 8 percent of its science staff, as it focuses on developing medicines to treat cancer, brain disorders and pain, said Martin MacKay, the New York-based company’s research chief, at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco today. Some compounds Pfizer wants to sell have been tested on humans, MacKay said.

Pfizer is halting early-stage development of medicines for heart failure, high cholesterol and obesity to focus on more- profitable diseases, the company said in September. The research cuts add to firings of 1,200 scientists last year with the closing of Pfizer’s Ann Arbor, Michigan, laboratory.

“The imperative for radical change is higher than ever, and we believe that pressure is mounting on management to do something big and soon,” said Jami Rubin, an analyst at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in New York, in a research report yesterday.

Pfizer will begin the firings today, Kristen Neese, a Pfizer spokeswoman, said in an interview. She wouldn’t specify which research fields or what laboratories around the world will be affected.

The company’s research labs have failed to produce enough new medicines to replace drugs losing patent protection, led by the Lipitor cholesterol pill, the world’s best-selling medicine with $12.7 billion in 2007 sales. Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Kindler has fired more than 14,000 workers since he took the job in 2006.

Research Revamp

Kindler also has reshaped the drugmaker’s research division, which includes 10,000 people and a budget of $7.5 billion a year, said Pfizer’s Neese. The company has a total workforce of 83,000.

Pfizer rose 23 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $17.59 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares declined 28 percent in the 12 months before today.

The research cuts won’t affect Pfizer’s ability to produce new medicines, MacKay said.

“We haven’t taken any hit on productivity. We haven’t missed any milestones,” MacKay said. “We are keeping the organization fully focused on the work we have to do.”

He also said Pfizer is shopping for acquisitions and licensing deals in stem cells and therapeutic vaccines.

Drug Approvals

Pfizer plans to seek U.S. regulatory approval for 15 to 20 drugs from 2010 to 2012 and will have as many as 28 drugs in the final stages of human tests this year, three times the number in 2005, MacKay said.

Pfizer will focus on six areas of medicine -- cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, pain, inflammation and diabetes, the company said last year. These disease areas have the biggest growth potential and the best possibility of medical advances, MacKay said in a September interview.

The company is ending early-stage research on drugs for heart disease, bone health, indigestion, obesity, liver damage, and age-related arthritis, Pfizer said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Shannon Pettypiece in New York at spettypiece@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 13, 2009 17:06 EST