Pfizer Archives - Medical Design Sourcing

Are Big Pharma giants getting the right ROI on their R&D investments? A visual exploration

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While annual reports show broadly similar R&D strategies among Merck & Co., Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and AbbVie, their 2020–2023 financial metrics reveal a concerning trend. Merck & Co. may be the new top dog of Big Pharma, but the firm’s 1.4% revenue growth in 2023 represents a significant slowdown. Pfizer’s 41.7% revenue decline from its COVID-inflated $100.3 billion peak in 2022 is even more stark. Similarly, J&J’s modest 4.2% growth and AbbVie’s 6.4% revenue dip also signal a departure from previous patterns.

In raw numbers, R&D spending in the pharmaceutical industry has surged over the past few decades, jumping from about $30 billion across the industry to more than $200 billion annually by the 2020s. Despite record-breaking R&D spending hitting $161 billion in 2023, marking a nearly 50% increase since 2018, as IQVIA has noted, …

Pfizer gives up on Washington state manufacturing plant project

Pfizer recently announced that it will wind down the construction of an Everett, Washington cancer therapies manufacturing plant that it inherited through its $43 billion acquisition of Seagen last year.

Over the summer before the acquisition closure in December 2023, Seagen had inked a $215 million deal with contractor Skanksa to build the 270,000-square-foot facility, according to the Herald in Everett. But Pfizer now plans for the product manufacturing intended for the site to take place at its expanding Sanford, North Carolina facility instead.

In a statement shared with Pharmaceutical Processing World, Pfizer said that roughly 120 employees who have been working on the initial set-up of the site will be impacted. “We will make every effort to place impacted colleagues within open roles at the Bothell site, and all impacted employees can apply to relevant open roles within Pfizer.”

The company said: “Pfizer regularly evaluates our …

Report: Pharma kicks off year with drug price hikes

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Reuters reports that a number of big-name drugmakers, including Pfizer, Sanofi and Takeda plan to raise drug prices to start the year.

According to the report, the price hikes apply to more than 500 drugs. Excluding different doses and formulations, the reach extends to more than 140 brands of drugs. Reuters said healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors analyzed data that uncovered these increases.

This move comes just weeks after the Biden Administration signaled its intent to target the pricing of dozens of prescription drugs. The Administration announced a strategy under the Inflation Reduction Act to focus on 48 Medicare Part B drugs that have raise…

Core trends in 2023 FDA drug approvals: Oncology, neurology and hematology dominate

2023 was a big year for hematology, neurology and oncology, with the medical specialties seeing the most FDA approvals. In terms of sponsors, Pfizer had the most approvals with six total, followed by UCB and Chiesi, each with three apiece.

When looking at commercial prospects, AstraZeneca’s respiratory syncytial virus antibody Beyfortus could be the biggest blockbuster from the 2023 cohort with expected peak sales of $1.9 billion. Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi could also be a major success, making up for the tepid demand for Aduhelm, which won conditional approval in 2021. While Aduhelm’s sales have sputtered, Leqembi could see peak revenue of $4.8 billion according to analysts.

Oncology continues to be a hot specialty with the most competition among the newly approved drugs, as the FDA continues to green light new entrants in crowded target classes such as PD-1 inhibitors.

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Pfizer veteran pays it forward through AAPS mentorship

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When Cindy Oksanen started out at Pfizer’s Groton, Connecticut research headquarters in 1992, she entered an environment where female Ph.D.s in leadership positions were rare. Starting out as a lab scientist, she developed formulations for new drugs including oral dosage forms like tablets and capsules. “We would develop the dosage forms and then transfer the manufacturing technology to sites around the world,” she recalled. At the time, there were roughly 10 men to every female Ph.D., Oksanen recalled. “It’s changed now, but back then, there weren’t many female role models in leadership roles,” she added.

Oksanen quickly assumed supervisory and leadership roles in analytical and manufacturing departments. Over time, she led development of more than 20 drugs from scratch through to regulatory approval. “I learned a lot about how to develop a drug product,&#…

Pharma M&A activity primed for another high-flying year in 2024

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Despite challenging interest rates and regulatory environment, pharma M&A activity surged in 2023 with deal volume up more than 30% from the prior year based on a review of more than 200 acquisitions since 2018. The total disclosed deal value in 2023 also more than doubled the prior year’s tally to surpass $100 billion. While the pandemic boosted research into areas such as mRNA, it had something of a chilling effect on M&A. As pharma companies begin to put the pandemic in the rearview mirror, M&A activity has gained momentum.

Analysts upbeat on biopharma M&A activity in 2024

According to PwC, the M&A activity in the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector could continue humming in 2024. Despite a challenging interest rate environment, PwC projects the sector to see deal values ranging from $225 billion to $275 billion. Deal volume in 2023 was in line with pre-pandemic levels. …

Pfizer’s $3.5B cost-cutting strategy hits Peapack site in New Jersey

After news emerged regarding Pfizer’s plans to close sites in North Carolina, the company is adding New Jersey to the list. The company expects its Peapack facility to cease operations in early 2024.

A Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification(WARN) Notice notes that 791 workers could potentially be cut from its Somerset County corporate office. The company hasn’t released an official tally, and notes that the “vast majority” of workers at the New Jersey site to be re-assigned to the company’s New York headquarters with another portion transitioning to the company’s site in Parsippany.

Peapack closure part of Pfizer’s $3.5 billion cost-savings plan

To respond to weak demand for its COVID-19 therapies, Pfizer has announced a $3.5 billion cost-cutting drive, aiming to save at least that figure by the end of 2024. It will incur a one-time cost of $3 billion in the process.

The 595,000 Peapack site is situated on 130-acres in the Borough o…

Pfizer to close Durham and Morrisville, North Carolina facilities amid major restructuring effort

In a strategic initiative to streamline operations, Pfizer said it would close facilities in Durham and Morrisville, North Carolina. The company aims to cut at least $3.5 billion in costs.

The company now employs more than 80,000 people worldwide, with roughly 4,000 based in North Carolina.

The closures will not affect Pfizer’s two largest facilities in North Carolina — Sanford and Rocky Mount. The Rocky Mount facility, which specializes in producing injectable medicines for hospitals, employs approximately 3,200 people and has recently resumed operations after a tornado damaged it in July. The Durham Clinical Manufacturing Facility, on the other hand, opened in December 2021. The company initially planned for the facility to create 50 jobs and relocate 40 employees from Chapel Hill. The exact number of people employed at the facility at the time of the announcement remains unclear.

The company has lowered its full-year revenue guidance to $58.0 to $61.…

Merck’s Q3 2023 revenue guidance put it in line with Pfizer’s

Merck & Co. has announced its third quarter results, projectings its full-year 2023 revenue to be in the range of $59.7 billion to $60.2 billion. That’s roughly in line with the guidance from Pfizer, which recently adjusted its revenue forecast from $58 billion to $61 billion.

As Pfizer deals with reduced demand for COVID-19 products, which helped catapult its overall revenue beyond $100 billion in 2022, Merck saw a surprise Q3 lift from Lagevrio (molnupiravir), whose sales were up 47% to $640 million.

Other top sales drivers include the oncology stalwart Keytruda, which generated $6.3 billion in sales, marking a 17% year-over-year increase. Sales for the HPV vaccine Gardasil/Gardasil 9 amounted to $2.6 billion, reflecting a 13% growth.

Merck Q3 2023 revenue remains robust

The figures keep Merck in the upper echelon of Big Pharmas. In 2022, the company was the second largest with $59.3 billion in overall revenue compared to Pfizer’s $100.3 billion…

Pfizer Ignite: Kathy Fernando’s vision for accelerating biotech innovation

Kathy Fernando, the senior vice president, head of Pfizer Ignite and Pfizer CentreOne, has had a professional trajectory marked by pivotal serendipities. One occurred when attending a seminar at the University of Pennsylvania, where she met Dr. Drew Weissman, a prominent immunologist and RNA vaccine researcher. Weissman, along with Katalin Karikó, recently received the Nobel Prize in medicine for discoveries that led to the development of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.

Hearing Weissman first speak, Fernando recalls being “just blown away” by his scientific creativity. “He just took things to the next level,” she said. She would go on to study under his tutelage, eventually co-authoring a paper with him on HIV that was published in the journal Blood in 2007. The paper explored the potential of mRNA in an HIV vaccine, and the challenges associated with triggering an unintended immune response from the approach. “When you gave mRNA, the bod…

Pfizer beefs up while J&J slims to focus on oncology

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Both Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer are gearing up to release third-quarter results. While J&J continues to display resilience with its diverse portfolio, Pfizer continues to face challenges with waning demand for its COVID-19 therapies.

To date, Pfizer’s stock is down by roughly a third so far this year, reflecting concerns over its ability to maintain the sky-high revenue levels driven by its COVID-19 portfolio. Also reflecting this trend is moderate volatility in its stock price

J&J, on the other hand, has seen a more modest dip in its stock price so far in 2023 — 8.82% to $162.47. Unlike Pfizer, J&J’s diverse portfolio, spanning consumer health, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices, provides it with a more balanced revenue stream. The company has also been active in addressing challenges, from legal issues to the loss of exclusivity for key drugs li…

Pharma giants make progress in pivot to mRNA technology in race for next-gen influenza vaccines, but hurdles remain

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mRNA technology helped propel the development of some of the most successful drugs in pharma history — notably, the Comirnaty COVID-19 from Pfizer generated almost $56 billion in 2022 while Moderna’s Spikevax vaccine raked in $18.4 billion. But with demand for COVID-19 vaccines cooling, drug developers are aiming to extend the dominion of mRNA technology to flu vaccines. This month, Moderna and the CureVac/GSK alliance announced promising interim results for their respective flu vaccine candidates. Meanwhile, a year ago, in September 2022, Pfizer announced a phase 3 study for its mRNA-based influenza vaccine. NIH is also developing an mRNA vaccine that promises to provide protection against all known influenza subtypes. A phase 1 study of it is underway.

Sanofi has acknowledged the promise and perils of mRNA flu vaccines

Sanofi, a prominent flu vaccine maker, has acknowledge…