US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc., revealed on May 3 that it expects strong earnings in the coming months as governments look to battle the ever-evolving novel coronavirus. The company is betting on the fact that demand for its Covid-19 pills and antiviral treatment will rise.
How effective is Pfizers Covid-19 antiviral treatment?
In February 2022, Technology Review reported that using Pfzier’s Covid-19 pill was found to be extremely effective. The pill cut the chance of a serious case of Covid by 89%. Human trials for the Covid-19 pill started in March 2021. The pill was declared effective after it was observed that those who received the treatment were recovering, while those who received the placebo were dying.
Pfizer first quarter earnings for 2022 showed that sales for both the Covid-19 pill and vaccine bolstered revenue.
Pfizer’s Covid-19 pill called Paxlovid brought in $1.5 billion in global sales after its US launch in December 2021, followed by international launches in late 2021 and early 2022. Pfizer’s vaccine, Comirnaty, brought in $13.2 billion in direct sales and alliance revenues.
Based on contracts signed until mid-April 2022, Pfizer expects heightened demand for its Covid-19 pill and vaccine. In the coming months, the company expects Paxlovid to bring in revenues of approximately $22 billion and Comirnaty to reach revenues of around $32 billion.
In a written statement, while reiterating the effectiveness of the Pfizer Covid antiviral treatment, Chief Executive Officer Dr. Albert Bourla promised to honor the company’s commitment to helping the less fortunate. He mentioned that they are on track “to deliver at least 2 billion doses to low- and middle-income countries in 2021 and 2022, including at least 1 billion doses this year.”
In March 2022, Pfizer revealed that it had signed an agreement with UNICEF to supply around 4 million courses of Paxlovid to low- and middle-income countries. The company will not charge full price for these doses and plans to offer the treatment at a not-for-profit price to low- and lower-middle-income countries while upper-middle-income countries will pay a price defined in Pfizer’s tiered pricing approach.
The the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized a Covid-19 vaccine booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for older people and certain immunocompromised individuals.
Pfizer Q1 earnings and Forecast
The pharmaceutical company reported first-quarter profits of $7.9 billion, up 61%, based on a 77% surge in revenues to $25.7 billion.
Pfzier’s vaccine is one of the most popular and used vaccines in the world. It aims to do well in the coming year, as it expects to receive larger orders from world- governments to combat the pandemic. Pfizer’s Covid-19 pill is also becoming popular as other treatments do not seem to be as effective against the Omicron variant and subvariants.
Bourla also expressed his joy, saying that the Q1 results bring him joy “both from a financial perspective and from the standpoint of trying to be a force for good in the world.” He added that the drugmaker will “continue to supply the world with Comirnaty, which remains a critical tool for helping patients and societies avoid the worst impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President Frank D’Amelio stated, “I am pleased to report another solid quarter for the company, highlighted by 82% operational revenue growth overall and 2% operational growth excluding Comirnaty and Paxlovid. Operational growth this quarter excluding these COVID-19 products would have been 5% if not for a 2% negative impact from losses of patent exclusivity for certain products and a 1% negative impact from fewer selling days this quarter compared to the prior-year quarter.”
However, the company is optimistic about its revenue for 2022 and confirmed that it expects to reach about $100 billion, which is an approximately 23% increase on the 2021 level.
