(Reuters) – Pfizer Inc on Tuesday reported a sharper-than-expected 54% drop in second-quarter revenue as the pharmaceuticals group grappled with lower demand for its COVID-related products -19.
The group said it expects 2023 to be a low point for sales of these products, after strong demand at the height of the pandemic, before a potential return to growth in 2024.
In the second quarter, sales of the Comirnaty vaccine against COVID-19 fell by 83% and those of the antiviral treatment Paxlovid by 98%.
Pfizer is also preparing for a drop in its revenues in the coming years due to competition from generic drugs on its best-selling products.
In total, second-quarter revenue was $12.73 billion, below analysts’ average forecast of $13.27 billion.
(Report Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; French version Lina Golovnya, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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