The Times:
Robust demand for booster jabs targeting the Omicron variant has prompted Pfizer to upgrade its forecast for annual sales of its Covid-19 vaccine by $2 billion to $34 billion.
The American drugs group said its coronavirus treatments — which also include Paxlovid, a pill — would continue to generate billions of dollars in sales “for the foreseeable future”, mitigating concerns on Wall Street surrounding growth.
Sales of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, developed with BioNTech, of Germany, exceeded analysts’ expectations in the last quarter as the latest rollout of booster jabs gathered pace across the United States. It reported global revenue of $4.4 billion for the jab, known as Comirnaty, in the last quarter, despite an 86 per cent drop outside America. Sales of about $2.6 billion had been forecast on Wall Street, according to a consensus compiled by Refinitiv.
The vaccine was the first to receive authorisation in the US and Pfizer equally divides gross profit for the jab in most of the world with BioNTech.
Founded in New York in 1849, Pfizer is one of the largest research-based pharmaceuticals and biomedical businesses in the world. It has a market value of about $269 billion and is based in New York.
Shares in Pfizer closed up 3.1 per cent, or $1.46, at $48.01 as Albert Bourla, the company’s chairman and chief executive, moved to reassure the market that its coronavirus treatments would remain highly lucrative for years to come. Addressing analysts yesterday, Bourla, 61, said: “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 in our portfolio.”
Its Paxlovid pill for Covid-19 fell marginally short of analysts’ projections of about $7.66 billion, with quarterly sales of $7.5 billion after launches and regulatory approvals worldwide over the past year. Pfizer retained its guidance for annual revenue of about $22 billion from the treatment.
The group’s total revenue fell by 6 per cent to $22.6 billion during its third quarter, which ran to October 2. Its overall net income rose by 6 per cent to $8.61 billion over the same period.
Other vaccines businesses rose as investors digested Pfizer’s latest results. Shares in Moderna climbed 2.9 per cent, or $4.29, to close at $154.62, Novavax fell 1.2 per cent, or 27 cents, to $22.
Pfizer is looking to new lines of business that it hopes will offset declining vaccine revenue, as well as lost revenue as patents expire, in future. Separately yesterday it said its experimental RSV vaccine had been found to be effective in a late-stage study in preventing severe infections in infants when given to expectant mothers. “Over the next 18 months we expect to have up to 19 new products or indications in the market,” Bourla said. “Nearly all would be for indications outside of Covid-19.”
Evan Seigerman, an equity research analyst at BMO Capital Markets, said that while some investors would see the unanticipated boost to Covid-19 vaccine sales as unsustainable, “we’re not yet throwing in the towel, given an emerging pipeline and significant balance sheet flexibility”.
• Uber has paid £615 million to authorities in Britain to resolve a legal demand that the company should have charged VAT on fares. The payment, revealed in its third-quarter results, came after a High Court ruling last year that the ride-hailing app and delivery company’s UK business model was unlawful.
The decision — and a failure to overturn it at appeal — forced Uber to collect VAT on service fees and to settle a bill from HM Revenue & Customs. The wider ruling meant the firm had to treat drivers as employees rather than contractors. Uber said yesterday it had “resolved all outstanding HMRC VAT claims”.
Uber’s shares rose $3.21, 12.1 per cent, to $29.78 after the company reported a 72 per cent surge in revenue for the three months to the end of September to $8.34 billion.
Article (no I don't know why it ends with talks about Uber)
Robust demand for booster jabs targeting the Omicron variant has prompted Pfizer to upgrade its forecast for annual sales of its Covid-19 vaccine by $2 billion to $34 billion.
The American drugs group said its coronavirus treatments — which also include Paxlovid, a pill — would continue to generate billions of dollars in sales “for the foreseeable future”, mitigating concerns on Wall Street surrounding growth.
Sales of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, developed with BioNTech, of Germany, exceeded analysts’ expectations in the last quarter as the latest rollout of booster jabs gathered pace across the United States. It reported global revenue of $4.4 billion for the jab, known as Comirnaty, in the last quarter, despite an 86 per cent drop outside America. Sales of about $2.6 billion had been forecast on Wall Street, according to a consensus compiled by Refinitiv.
The vaccine was the first to receive authorisation in the US and Pfizer equally divides gross profit for the jab in most of the world with BioNTech.
Founded in New York in 1849, Pfizer is one of the largest research-based pharmaceuticals and biomedical businesses in the world. It has a market value of about $269 billion and is based in New York.
Shares in Pfizer closed up 3.1 per cent, or $1.46, at $48.01 as Albert Bourla, the company’s chairman and chief executive, moved to reassure the market that its coronavirus treatments would remain highly lucrative for years to come. Addressing analysts yesterday, Bourla, 61, said: “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 in our portfolio.”
Its Paxlovid pill for Covid-19 fell marginally short of analysts’ projections of about $7.66 billion, with quarterly sales of $7.5 billion after launches and regulatory approvals worldwide over the past year. Pfizer retained its guidance for annual revenue of about $22 billion from the treatment.
The group’s total revenue fell by 6 per cent to $22.6 billion during its third quarter, which ran to October 2. Its overall net income rose by 6 per cent to $8.61 billion over the same period.
Other vaccines businesses rose as investors digested Pfizer’s latest results. Shares in Moderna climbed 2.9 per cent, or $4.29, to close at $154.62, Novavax fell 1.2 per cent, or 27 cents, to $22.
Pfizer is looking to new lines of business that it hopes will offset declining vaccine revenue, as well as lost revenue as patents expire, in future. Separately yesterday it said its experimental RSV vaccine had been found to be effective in a late-stage study in preventing severe infections in infants when given to expectant mothers. “Over the next 18 months we expect to have up to 19 new products or indications in the market,” Bourla said. “Nearly all would be for indications outside of Covid-19.”
Evan Seigerman, an equity research analyst at BMO Capital Markets, said that while some investors would see the unanticipated boost to Covid-19 vaccine sales as unsustainable, “we’re not yet throwing in the towel, given an emerging pipeline and significant balance sheet flexibility”.
• Uber has paid £615 million to authorities in Britain to resolve a legal demand that the company should have charged VAT on fares. The payment, revealed in its third-quarter results, came after a High Court ruling last year that the ride-hailing app and delivery company’s UK business model was unlawful.
The decision — and a failure to overturn it at appeal — forced Uber to collect VAT on service fees and to settle a bill from HM Revenue & Customs. The wider ruling meant the firm had to treat drivers as employees rather than contractors. Uber said yesterday it had “resolved all outstanding HMRC VAT claims”.
Uber’s shares rose $3.21, 12.1 per cent, to $29.78 after the company reported a 72 per cent surge in revenue for the three months to the end of September to $8.34 billion.
Article (no I don't know why it ends with talks about Uber)
