By: Hellen Zaboulani
Pfizer Inc, the US pharmaceutical giant, posted better than expected results for the third quarter of 2022. It increased its 2022 sales estimate for its COVID-19 vaccine to $34 billion, up from $32 billion.
As reported by Reuters, the third-quarter report on Tuesday indicated that the drugmaker’s profits beat estimates, thanks to higher-than-expected sales of the vaccine which it developed together with German partner BioNTech. The company said that they are also working on new deals and drugs in development which should help the company keep up sales in the future, despite expected lost revenue in the future from patent expirations and an expected decline in COVID-19 vaccination sales.
In response to the upbeat estimates released, shares of Pfizer’s stocks rose 2.7 percent to $47.84. Pfizer’s news also had a positive impact on rival COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers, leading Novavax Inc and Moderna Inc both to see their stock prices jump about 2 percent.
As per the third-quarter report, sales of the COVID vaccine raked in $4.40 billion, well surpassing estimates of $2.60 billion. Sales of Paxlovid, the company’s COVID-19 antiviral treatment, however, fell slightly short of the $7.66 billion estimate, reaching $7.51 billion in sales. Overall, for the third quarter, Pfizer reported adjusted earnings of $1.78 per share, beating analysts’ estimates by $0.39 per share.
Understandably, sales of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID vaccine fell significantly since the height of the pandemic. Even the updated booster shots have lost popularity, as most countries have eased on their pandemic-related protocols and vaccination campaigns. To offset this, Pfizer has plans to raise the price of the vaccine in the United States to quadruple, after the government stops paying for the vaccines, and once sales shift to the private market.
Chief Executive Albert Bourla said in an interview that Pfizer is trying to highlight what a “post-COVID crisis” Pfizer will be like. Treatments and vaccines for COVID-19 will be multibillion-dollar franchises, he said, “but that will be stable, not with ups and downs. And the growth will be driven by the pipeline and the business development.”
As per Reuters, Mr. Bourla said the company’s internal pipeline should aid in making up for declines in COVID sales and patent expirations. Some of the company’s key drugs will lose their patent protections between 2025 and 2030. The company has been working to add new drugs to their line in the future, via partnerships. Namely, it recently purchased Global Blood Therapeutics Inc for $5.4 billion, as well as Biohaven for$11.6 billion.
Thanks to the startups working to find new drugs, Pfizer now has 19 products it hopes to launch over the next 18 months, which it says may generate up to $20 billion in annual revenue. These include treatments for ulcerative colitis and migraines, as well as a vaccination for RSV or respiratory syncytial virus. As per Reuters, Pfizer recently announced that its experimental RSV vaccine was found to be effective in a late-stage study, helping to prevent severe infections in infants when given to their expectant mothers.
