The beleaguered drugmaker, which suffered a huge setback last winter with the unexpected failure of a follow-up to Lipitor, this afternoon issued a laundry list of meds being developed in various stages and therapeutic categories. The idea, of course, is to bolster its image on Wall Street, where its archrival, Merck, is winning new fans every day.

In general, the drugmaker hopes to triple its late-stage portfolio by 2009. All totaled, Pfizer’s outgoing R&D chief, John LaMattina, says there are now 99 total programs, with 38 in Phase I, 47 in Phase II, 11 in Phase III and three in registration, awaiting FDA action. Last December, Pfizer had 32 in Phase II and 8 in Phase III. Four drugs were discontinued from Phase II work.

Among the discontinued drugs were two CETP inhibitors, the same type of drug as torcetrapib, the failed Lipitor follow-up that sent confidence in Pfizer’s R&D efforts plummeting, and also prompted skepticism over the entire class of drugs, which Merck and Roche have also been pursuing. However, a Pfizer spokesman says this evening that trial results for the two CETP inhibitors are still being evaluated.

“We are revising the allocation of our capital so that we target the areas of greatest medical and commercial promise, and I am confident that you will see Pfizer bring forward significant new therapies to fight cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders, infections and many other conditions,” LaMattina says in a statement.

Pfizer plans to resubmit its application for lasofoxifene, a drug for osteoporosis, with new data in December 2007. The FDA rejected applications in 2005 and 2006 for the drug; one to prevent osteoporosis and treat vaginal atrophy, respectively.

An investigational compound for obesity, dubbed CP-945598, is in the final testing stage. That drug is in the same class as Sanofi-Aventis’ Acomplia diet pill, which was widely hyped but then rejected by an FDA advisory committee two months ago over concerns the med may be linked to suicidal thoughts.

“The announcement shows the breadth of their pipeline, and they do have a lot going on in their early-phase pipeline, but it’s difficult to see which early stage compounds have blockbuster potential,” AG Edwards analyst Joseph Tooley told the Associated Press.