Viagra maker Pfizer cites poor performance for stock de-listing

US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE - news) has applied to cancel its stock market listings in the UK and Switzerland due to a lack of trading activity.

In an official announcement released on Wednesday, the company said that "there is limited trading or liquidity" of its stock on the London Stock Exchange (Other OTC: LDNXF - news) and revealed it hopes to be officially de-listed by 23 March.

Pfizer stock is primarily listed in New York but has secondary listings in other countries, including Germany and India.

The problem in London and Switzerland appears to be that the volumes of stock being traded are low, which means the value of the stock may not be climbing.

Pfizer, which is based in the US, is best known as the maker of Viagra, but has also received publicity over fines it received from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for hiking the price of an anti-epilepsy drug by 2,600% overnight.

The CMA ruled in December that the company had broken competition law by "charging excessive and unfair prices" in the UK for phenytoin sodium capsules, which were used by 48,000 patients who could not switch to alternative medication for fear it would trigger seizures.

Pfizer was fined £84.2m for the breach, but told Sky News at the time that it would appeal against the decision.

The pharmaceutical company also announced in 2016 that it would be closing two of its UK sites following a global review, putting 370 jobs at risk.

It said the Hospira UK (Aseptic Services) Compounding site in north London, where it employs 100 people, would shut in mid-2017.

Pfizer's packaging and distribution plant in Havant is due to close by the end of 2020.