High Corona write-offs
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is slipping into the red
October 31, 2023, 2:06 p.m
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The fact that demand for corona drugs has collapsed is causing problems for Pfizer. The US pharmaceutical giant made billions of dollars in losses last quarter. The group reacts with a savings program.
The US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer slipped into the red last quarter due to the collapse in demand for Covid drugs. The manufacturer had to write off around $5.6 billion on its inventories. The bottom line was a loss of almost 2.4 billion US dollars (around 2.3 billion euros) for the three months from July to the end of September, after a profit of a good 8.6 billion dollars just a year ago Group announced when presenting its final figures. It is the first loss since 2019.
The group had already announced the write-downs in mid-October due to weak demand for Covid drugs such as Paxlovid and the Comirnaty vaccination marketed jointly with Mainz-based Biontech. The group had also capped its targets for the year – these have now been confirmed. Albert Bourla’s management now wants to counteract this by cutting costs. This should result in net savings of at least $3.5 billion by the end of 2024, the statement said.
However, the development partners Biontech and Pfizer recently reported success in researching a combined vaccine against flu and corona. In a study in the early and middle development phase, the agent caused a strong immune reaction against the viruses, the two companies announced last week.
A study with more test subjects should be started in the coming months. “This vaccine has the potential to alleviate the symptoms of two respiratory diseases with a single injection and simplify vaccination practices,” said Annaliesa Anderson, head of vaccine development at Pfizer.