Pfizer planning initial public offering of GSK consumer venture in four yrs

Pfizer is planning an initial public offering (IPO) of its consumer-health joint venture with GlaxoSmithKline in 3-4 years, as the two drugmakers turn back toward the lab.

Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, discussed the time frame for the IPO at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco on Tuesday. The plan provides New York-based Pfizer with a clear exit strategy, he said.

The world’s biggest supplier of over-the-counter medicines will be one of the industry’s only standalones, facing off with companies integrated into larger entities such as Johnson & Johnson, Bayer AG and Procter & Gamble Co.

With annual sales of about $13