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

Pfizer is cleaning out its chemical compound closet as it shifts research to medicines to treat cancer, brain disorders and pain, said Martin MacKay, the New York-based company’s research chief, at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference today in San Francisco. Some of the compounds Pfizer wants to sell have been tested on humans, MacKay said.

Pfizer, the world’s largest drugmaker, also is shopping for acquisitions and licensing deals in stem cells and therapeutic vaccines while cutting costs, MacKay said. Pfizer will fire 800 researchers, 8 percent of its scientists, as part of a research reshuffling, the company said today. MacKay, who oversees Pfizer’s $7.5 billion research budget, said the cuts won’t affect productivity.

“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.”

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 today.

The drugmaker’s research operations have failed to produce enough new products to replace those losing patent protection, led by the Lipitor cholesterol pill with $12.7 billion in 2007 sales.

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

Last Updated: January 13, 2009 14:24 EST