(AOF) – Pfizer is expected to decline slightly in pre-market on Wall Street after publishing its first quarterly loss since 2019, with a loss per share adjusted to $0.17. The net loss stood at $2.38 billion in published data compared to a profit of $8.6 billion a year earlier. The American pharmaceutical laboratory accuses the decline in sales of its Covid-19 products (Paxlovid and Comirnaty) of having caused the 41% drop in its turnover to $13.23 billion. Wall Street was targeting 13.34 billion euros.
Pfizer confirmed its 2023 annual revenue targets of between $58 and $61 billion and earnings per share of between $1.45 and $1.65. They had been lowered on October 16.
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Biotechs put to the test
These companies are suffering from a much less favorable economic cycle, which is reflected in particular by a drop in venture capital financing of start-ups. These companies are therefore obliged to carry out layoff plans. Added to this is a much more restrictive regulatory framework. First, in the United States, measures linked to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) could have a strong impact on the margins of stakeholders. Indeed, from 2026, the federal Medicare program will be able to renegotiate the price of drugs marketed for nine years (chemical) or 13 years (biological), with discounts that could range from 35 to 60% for biotechs. Likewise, in Europe, with the new drug regulations presented in Brussels in April, the duration of patent protection will be reduced if the innovative treatment is not marketed in all member countries within two years.