The US pharmaceutical company was able to increase its sales by 47 percent in the second quarter.
(Photo: AP)
Dusseldorf At the world’s largest pharmaceutical company Pfizer, the business with corona drugs is developing into a gold mine. In the second quarter, the US group’s sales jumped 47 percent to almost $28 billion.
Almost all of the growth is attributable to the Comirnaty corona vaccine, which the Americans are selling together with the German Biontech. The Pfizer drug Paxlovid also has a large share: This new pill is used to treat the early stages of Covid 19 disease.
Without those two drugs, Pfizer’s sales would have been virtually flat in the second quarter. With Paxlovid alone, the group turned over 8.1 billion dollars, Comirnaty sales rose by 13 percent to 8.8 billion dollars. The bottom line is that Pfizer had a net profit of almost ten billion dollars.
So it didn’t matter that the Americans had to write off $450 million in the corona business: That’s how much the funds were worth that were not used before the end of their sell-by date and were disposed of – such as vaccines that were in storage due to falling demand stayed.
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For Pfizer, the two corona drugs are still a good and, above all, safe business. Because the turnover corresponds to the orders from numerous countries that are preparing themselves with vaccines and antiviral drugs for the further course of the pandemic.
Paxlovid orders ensure secure billions in revenue
The USA alone has ordered 20 million packages of Paxlovid, Germany one million. The drug is considered an effective weapon in the therapy of Covid-19. It slows down the ability of the coronavirus to multiply in the body and thus the severity of the disease. However, it is only effective if it is taken within five days of the onset of symptoms.
But even if there are prominent patients like US President Joe Biden, who recently had himself treated with Paxlovid immediately after the corona infection: the drug is not yet widely used by doctors. As of May, only three percent of the quantity ordered and delivered had been administered to patients in the United States.
Because of the firmly agreed order quantities, Pfizer can plan with the income. On Thursday, the group slightly increased its forecast for the year. For the year as a whole, the Americans continue to expect sales of between 98 and 102 billion dollars, although the strong dollar is increasingly affecting business. Pfizer has raised its guidance range for adjusted earnings to $6.30 to $6.45 per share.
And the corona business could still grow: Pfizer and Biontech are also working together on the further development of their joint vaccine. Most recently, both pharmaceutical companies have brought a booster tailored to the Omikron virus variant to market maturity. The European Medicines Agency Ema is currently examining the approval and could grant it by autumn.
With Comirnaty, Pfizer and Biontech are providing one of the most important tools for overcoming the corona pandemic.
(Photo: Reuters)
At the same time, Pfizer and Biontech are developing a completely improved next-generation Covid-19 vaccine. It is said to generate an even stronger immune response in the body. The phase 2 clinical trial, involving 200 people between the ages of 18 and 55, has started in the USA.
Pfizer’s half-year report presented on Thursday also shows what the pharmaceutical company is using the billions in profits for. In the first six months, internal research projects were strengthened with five billion dollars. In addition, seven billion dollars were spent on takeovers and license purchases. There are more to come, with Pfizer paying a good twelve billion dollars just for the planned acquisition of the migraine medicine specialist Biohaven.
And the shareholders also benefit from the income from the corona business. Pfizer paid them a dividend of $4.5 billion and also bought back $2 billion worth of stock.
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