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... Bloomberg.com: Top Worldwide Updated: New York: Oct 20 17:00London: Oct 20 22:00Tokyo: Oct 21 06:00 US AUBZFPGRHKIMJPLNSMIND : Top Worldwide Top Worldwide Regions Markets Economy/Politics Commentary Sports Culture RESOURCES: Bloomberg TV Bloomberg Radio Markets E-Mail This Story Printer-Friendly Format Pfizer Net Plunges 52% on Lower Sales, Purchase Costs (Update7) Oct.

20 (Bloomberg) - Pfizer Inc., the world's biggest drugmaker, said third-quarter earnings plunged 52 percent on lower sales of its Celebrex painkiller and Neurontin epilepsy drug.

Pfizer shares posted their biggest decline this year.

Net income declined to $1.59 billion, or 22 cents a share, after acquisition costs from $3.34 billion, or 44 cents, a year earlier, New York-based Pfizer said today in a statement.

Revenue fell for the first time in four years.

The company said it can't project earnings for the next two years.

Demand for Celebrex dropped 44 percent after U.S.

regulators added a warning of heart risks to the drug's label.

Neurontin fell 80 percent as cheaper generic products became available this year.

The declines will put pressure on Chief Executive Hank McKinnell to complete his plan to cut $4 billion from annual costs by 2008 as patents expire on some of the company's most profitable drugs.

``We figured there would be some deterioration, but not like this,'' said Miller Tabak & Co.

health-care strategist Les Funtleyder in a telephone interview toda...

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