Pfizer Inc., the world’s biggest drug maker, is said to acquire pharmaceutical company Wyeth for $68 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

 

The deal, believed to be the largest pharmaceutical deal in nearly a decade, if closed, would turn Pfizer into a bigger company than it already is, with a product line that includes everything from Advil pain medication to Centrum vitamins and Lipitor, a cholesterol drug.

 

This would be the second huge deal ever closed after Glaxo Wellcome PLC acquired SmithKline Beecham PLC for $76 billion in 2000.

The first time Pfizer tried to close the deal with Wyeth was in June last year, but talks stalled because the current financial crisis. The talks were then resumed over the past month.

 

According to the same sources, Wyeth Chief Executive J. Poussot and his management team aren’t expected to remain with the company after the takeover. That would put control of Wyeth firmly in the hands of Pfizer Chief Executive Jeffrey B. Kindler, known for his reputation as a cost cutter, as he has fired more than 15,000 employees since January 2007.

 

The deal is expected to lead to annual savings of $4 billion by the end of the third year.

 

“Consolidation is necessary evil in Big Pharma. This sector must consolidate now, and Pfizer is the poster child,” pharmaceutical analyst David Moskowitz at Caris & Co. said.

 

If closed, Pfizer’s annual revenue would be more than the world’s second –biggest drug maker, London-based GlaxoSmithKline. Also, the deal would help Pfizer prevent a decline over the next several years, as the company will lose the patent protection for its blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor in 2011. Lipitor alone make up 25 percent of the company’s total sales.