NEW YORK — Pfizer surprised investors on Tuesday by announcing it is ending development of an experimental cholesterol-lowering drug that was projected to be a blockbuster, and reported third-quarter earnings that fell short of analysts’ estimates. The drug, an injection called bococizumab, had unexpected side effects and was becoming less effective over time, Pfizer said in a statement. Stopping two large, final-stage tests of the treatment will lower full-year adjusted earnings by 4c a share. Two similar drugs are already sold by competitors, and sales of Pfizer’s were projected to reach $958m by 2022, according to analysts’ projections. "This news was unexpected, and unusual given the late-stage of development of the product," Tim Anderson, an analyst with Sanford C Bernstein, who rates the stock as outperform, wrote in a note to investors. He said the decision narrows Pfizer’s "already-thin" pipeline. Third-quarter profit was 61c a share, the New York-based drug maker said, shor...
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