the american lab Pfizer billed 25,700 million dollars in the first quarter of 2022an increase of 77% over the same period last year, largely thanks to sales of its anti-Covid vaccine.
The firm also maintained the sales forecast for its Paxlovid anticovid pill of 22,000 million dollars in the year.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended this antiviral in April for patients with less severe forms of Covid-19 and “at increased risk of hospitalization.”
Meanwhile, Pfizer revised down its full-year profit estimate, mainly due to a change in accounting standards.
The SEC, the US stock market regulator, requires pharmaceutical groups to include certain expenses, particularly research and development, in their financial projections.
Pfizer expects annual earnings per share to be between $6.25 and $6.45, down from the previous range of $6.35 to $6.55.
Instead, the annual billing forecast remains between 98,000 and 102,000 million dollars.
The vaccine of Comarty against Covid-19 should represent sales of 32,000 million dollars.
Between January and March, the group’s net profit reached 7.9 billion dollars. Excluding one-off items, earnings per share were $1.62, above market expectations.
We continue to provide Comarty to the world, a crucial tool to help patients and societies avoid the worst effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement.
“We are on track to meet our commitment to deliver at least 2 billion doses to low- and middle-income countries between 2021 and 2022, including at least 1 billion this year,” he added.
On the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the group recalled that maintains the delivery of medicines to Russiabut that all the profits of its subsidiaries in the country were used to finance humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian people.
Pfizer said it will not start clinical trials in Russia or recruit new patients there for ongoing trials, while it will suspend further investment in local partners to build factories.