WHEN: Today, Thursday, April 16th
WHERE: CNBC's "Power Lunch"
Following are excerpts from the unofficial transcript of a CNBC EXCLUSIVE interview with Pfizer Chairman & CEO Ian Read on CNBC's "Power Lunch" (M-F, 1PM-3PM ET) today. Video from the interview will be available on CNBC.com.
All references must be sourced to CNBC.
READ ON FDA APPROVAL PROCESS
The FDA has responded to the fast moving science. And it gives them more confidence. And in certain areas, you've certainly seen an acceleration. Especially in oncology. In other areas, cardiovascular, diabetes – it's slower because you need a long outcome as trials. And that is an issue. It really does delay getting new medicines to patients.
READ ON TAX REFORM
If a foreign company earns a dollar in the United Kingdom, they probably pay maximum 20 cents, probably 10 cents effective. They have 90 cents left. They can bring that 90 cents back and put it into the U.S. and invest it in the U.S. Pfizer, under a similar circumstance, can only get 65 cents back to invest in the U.S. This makes us extremely uncompetitive. We need to change the laws around corporate tax to allow American companies to survive and be successful.
READ ON INNOVATION BOX
I prefer comprehensive tax reform. I think tax reform needs to achieve two things. Number one it has to allow American companies to be competitive. And secondly it has to create jobs in the United States – good middle class jobs. And one way of doing that is for instance creating what we call innovation box. Where if you manufacture in the United States and your intellectual property is in the United States, then you get a tax rate that is competitive with your international competitors. And that would go a long way to solving both jobs in the United States and making us competitive.
READ ON ACQUISITIONS
We did partnership with Merck Germany. We have a pedia 1 in partnership with them. We're deep into immune oncology. We have back up products. Or what are called combination products. Ox 40, or 4-1BB, all these sort of secondary products you put in with pedia 1's. So I think we'll look segment by segment and we'll do acquisitions where it will strengthen our business.
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