Pfizer predicts Covid-19 vaccines will remain 'multi-billion-dollar revenue generators'

Company plans to quadruple the price of the vaccine in the US once the US government stops buying doses and shifts to a private market

Third-quarter sales of the Covid-19 vaccine came in at $4.4bn, blowing past estimates of $2.6bn.

Pfizer has raised its forecast for annual sales of its Covid-19 vaccine by $2bn to $34bn on demand for Omicron-targeted boosters, helping allay some investor worries over growth for the vaccinations.

The US drugmaker's shares rose over 2.5% at one stage in the session as its third-quarter profit beat estimates, mainly due to better-than-expected sales of the vaccine.

The upbeat earnings also sent shares of rival Covid-19 vaccine makers higher. Shares in Novavax and Moderna gained. 

Sales of the Covid-19 vaccine have eased from pandemic highs on soft demand for the original shots, sparking concerns over demand over the next few years.

In response, Pfizer plans to roughly quadruple the price of the vaccine, which it sells with German partner BioNTech in the US once the US government stops buying doses and shifts to a private market.

"Our Covid-19 franchises will remain multi-billion-dollar revenue generators for the foreseeable future," chief executive Albert Bourla said. 

Loss of patents

Meanwhile, Pfizer is also expected to face the loss of patents for some key drugs between 2025 and 2030. The company has turned to deals such as its recent $5.4bn acquisition of Global Blood Therapeutics and its $11.6bn purchase of Biohaven to beef up its pipeline.

While some will point to the massive beat as unsustainable, "we're not yet throwing in the towel given an emerging pipeline and significant balance sheet flexibility", said BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman.

Third-quarter sales of the Covid-19 vaccine came in at $4.4bn, blowing past estimates of $2.6bn. However, $7.5bn in sales of the company's Covid-19 pill Paxlovid missed estimates of $7.6bn.

Separately, the company said its experimental respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine was found to be effective in a late-stage study in preventing severe infections in infants when given to expectant mothers.

Eli Lilly

Meanwhile, Eli Lilly has forecast its annual profit and revenue below estimates, as a stronger dollar piled more pressure on the drugmaker struggling with lower insulin prices and generic competition for its cancer drug.

The company's shares fell 5% as forecast cut for the third time this year overshadowed strong performance by its newly approved diabetes drug.

The drugmaker also trimmed its full-year revenue forecast, citing a $300m hit to its revenue from the strong dollar. Lilly now sees revenue in the range of $28.5bn to $29bn billion, below analysts' estimates. 

Lilly flagged a total impact of about $1bn from the strong dollar for the full year. The company posted better-than-expected results for the third quarter, as demand for its recently approved diabetes drug, Mounjaro, helped counter declining sales of its diabetes and cancer treatments. 

• Reuters