Pfizer's $68 billion merger with Wyeth, which officially commences today, will mean the loss of almost 20,000 jobs, the company has said, and analysts predict research could take a hard hit.

The deal involves combining laboratories of the once-competing companies. Martin Mackay, president of Pfizer Global Research and Development, told Bloomberg News that the merger would likely involve cuts in research spending. Though he didn't specify how much, analyst estimates put the number at as much as $3 billion, Bloomberg News reports -- which will translate into job losses.

"These big acquisitions don't do a thing for research," Kenneth Kaitin, director of the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, told Bloomberg News. "I don't think anyone should be fooled into thinking these big acquisitions have anything to do with innovation or increased research and development capacity."

As a result of the merger, many facilities will be shuttered. The Wall Street Journal Health Blog is compiling reports on the fate of individual Wyeth and Pfizer locations.


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