Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla talks during a press conference with European Commission President after a visit to oversee the production of the Pfizer-BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine on the factory of US pharmaceutical company Pfizer, in Puurs, on April 23, 2021.
John Thys | AFP | Getty Images
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla laid out his plan Tuesday to maintain the pharmaceutical giant growing through 2030, because the Covid-19 pandemic fades and the corporate faces generic competition for a few of its blockbuster drugs.
Bourla said Pfizer is staring down an expected lack of between $16 billion and $18 billion in revenue from 2025 through 2030 as patent protections for a few of its bestselling drugs expire. He acknowledged that some investors are skeptical of Pfizer’s future following two blockbuster years because of its Covid vaccine and antiviral treatment.
“We recognize that some are questioning Pfizer’s longer-term growth prospects,” Bourla told analysts during Pfizer’s third-quarter earnings call Tuesday. The corporate’s shares rose by about 3% Tuesday after it raised its 2022 earnings guidance in its third-quarter earnings report that beat Wall Street expectations. “We consider we not only can overcome these expected declines, but in addition can potentially generate strong growth through the tip of the last decade,” he said.
In a July report, Moody’s singled out five Pfizer medications that would come under pressure from generics over the following decade. They include Eliquis to treat blood clots, Vyndaqel for cardiomyopathy, Xeljanz for rheumatoid arthritis, Ibrance for breast cancer and Xtandi for prostate cancer.
Taken together, these five drugs represented about 40% of Pfizer’s third-quarter revenue this yr when the Covid vaccine and the antiviral treatment Paxlovid are excluded.
It is also unclear how strong demand might be for the Covid vaccine and Paxlovid because the world, hopefully, transitions out of the pandemic. Within the third quarter of this yr, the vaccine and the antiviral treatment represented 52% of Pfizer’s total revenues.
Bourla told analysts that Pfizer plans to add $25 billion to the corporate’s revenues by 2030 through recent acquisitions in addition to the event of its in-house drug and vaccine pipeline. He highlighted three areas of focus — respiratory syncytial virus, migraines, and ulcerative colitis.
Pfizer’s RSV vaccine candidates for older adults and infants have the potential to generate billions in revenue, Bourla said. Its vaccine for people ages 60 and older was 85% effective at stopping severe lower respiratory tract infections. And its vaccine for infants, which is run to moms late of their pregnancy, was 81% effective at stopping severe disease in the primary 90 days of the child’s life.
Bourla said the vaccine to guard newborns could enter the market by late 2023 or early 2024. It might be the one RSV vaccine within the U.S. that protects infants by giving the shot to the mother, he said. The RSV vaccine for older adults could also enter the market in the identical timeframe, in keeping with Bourla.
“RSV is an area of serious unmet need, particularly in older adults and infants,” he said. “We consider we’ve got the potential to be a pacesetter within the space and have an actual impact on public health.”
Pfizer can be planning to construct out the world’s best portfolio of migraine medications through its recent acquisition of Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Bourla said. Its migraine medication portfolio could reach peak revenue of greater than $6 billion, he said. Greater than 40 million people suffer from migraines within the U.S. alone.
Pfizer’s purchase of Arena Pharmaceuticals and its drug candidate for ulcerative colitis could also generates billions in revenue, Bourla said. Ulcerative colitis is a debilitating inflammatory bowel disease that affects a million people within the U.S.
There is a high demand for treatments and Pfizer expects the market to grow by 50% over the following five years, Bourla said. The medication, etrasimod, could enter the U.S. market within the second half of 2023 pending regulatory approval, Bourla said.
Pfizer bought 4 firms this yr alone for a combined total of greater than $24 billion. The medications these acquisitions bring with them should move Pfizer about one-third the way in which toward its 2030 revenue goal, Bourla said.
Along with Arena and Biohaven, the acquisitions include Global Blood Therapeutics and ReViral. Global Blood Therapeutics manufactures Oxbryta, a therapy for sickle cell disease. ReViral is developing antiviral treatments for RSV.
Pfizer also has 15 drugs and vaccines developed in-house which are expected to roll out over next 18 months. They’ve the potential to generate $20 billion in 2030 sales, in keeping with Bourla.
And Pfizer expects its Covid vaccine and antiviral treatment to stay multibillion dollar revenue generators for years to return, said David Denton, Pfizer’s chief financial officer.
“That is going to be somewhat like a sustained flu but actually more deadly than the flu,” Denton said on the earnings call. “So subsequently, I feel the products each from a vaccine and a therapy perspective that Pfizer has developed may be quite relevant for a few years to return.”
