Pfizer Covid-19 revenue halves but CEO remains bright on outlook
While Pfizer’s Covid-19 revenue is declining, the pharmaceutical giant has raised its outlook for the whole year after pocketing a collective revenue of $22.6bn (£19.6bn) in the past few months.
The Big Pharma firm had the revenue from its Covid-19 vaccine Comirnaty plunge by 65 per cent to $4.4bn (£3.8bn) in the third quarter. However, the company has lifted its full-year sales forecast for its jab by $2bn (£1.2bn) to $34bn (£29bn).
Slipping demand has seemingly pushed Pfizer to increase the cost of its jabs. The company is expected to hike prices to around $110-$130 (£95.5-£113) per vaccine.
“With regard to our Covid-19 products, while their sales may fall from our expected 2022 levels we believe our Covid-19 franchises will remain multibillion-dollar revenue generators for the foreseeable future, which should serve as a buffer for any unforeseen challenges with other products,” chief executive Albert Bourla told the Financial Times.
Pfizer’s share price rose 2.6 per cent to $47.74 a piece by 14:00GMT.
Although the company appears positive in terms of its annual earnings, with total revenue up two per cent on the year, analysts remain cautious about the future of its Covid-19 business as fears surrounding the virus subside in the West.
Lee Brown, global lead for the pharmaceutical and healthcare at investment research firm Third Bridge, said: “Regardless of the guidance, we’re far less enthusiastic about the booster opportunity for the updated Omicron-adapted Covid-19 vaccines.
“Most Americans appear to be delaying or skipping the new Covid-19 booster shots, with a recent poll highlighting that two-thirds of American adults do not plan on getting a Covid-19 vaccine soon.”
Pfizer’s pneumonia vaccine known as Prevnar 20, however, has piqued the interest of investors.
“There is excitement around Prevnar 20,” Brown continued, explaining that it has performed particularly well in the third quarter, pulling in $1.6bn (£1.4bn) in revenue in the third quarter, which represents a 14 per cent increase compared with last year.