Pfizer records high earnings despite problems with antismoking drug

NEW YORK Pfizer released its second earnings report and despite the loss of more than a third of its sales for its anti-smoking drug Chantix due to safety concerns, the company reported that earnings more than doubled on higher sales of its prescription drugs, according to published reports.

The company earned $2.78 billion in the second quarter, compared to $1.27 billion a year earlier, when Pfizer took large charges for restructuring and merger-related costs.

Company revenue rose 9 percent to $12.13 billion, but would have increased only 2 percent if not for the weak dollar, which boosts the value of overseas sales when converted back into U.S. currency.

Pfizer’s U.S. sales fell 2 percent, hurt by decreasing demand for Chantix, a new medicine that Pfizer has been counting on to drive earnings growth in coming years, and loss of patent protection on allergy drug Zyrtec and cancer drug Camptosar.