Pfizer and BioNTech have written off almost $1 billion in unsold Covid vaccines.
As the Covid-19 virus becomes a part of history, with the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring the end of the pandemic earlier this year, so does demand for Covid vaccines. Pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and BioNTech said their earnings will take a hit this quarter due to unsold vaccine supplies.
US-based Pfizer said it would likely write off $900 million for the Covid vaccine, and up to $947 million for its European partner BioNTech.
Later last week, Pfizer reduced sales expectations for Paxlovid, the antiviral treatment for Covid, by about $7 billion. Likewise, they reduced expectations for vaccine purchases by $2 billion.
Moderna, the main pharmaceutical rival of Pfizer and BioNTech and vaccine developer in its own right, said on Monday they are not looking to revise demand expectations.
Nevertheless, Moderna shares in New York took a hit on Monday, dropping 5.75% before the bell. A similar drop was experienced by Pfizer on Friday, though rebounded on Monday trade.
However, BioNTech shares dropped 10.79% in Frankfurt since last week, with a slight rebound on Monday followed by another drop. Overall this year, Moderna had the worst market performance of the three, with a 48.38% fall YTD (year-to-date). Pfizer fell by 34.16% and BioNTech by 34.47%.
The end of Covid?
While the WHO announced the end of the pandemic, i.e. the end of the global contagion from the virus, Covid-19 itself continues to circulate.
However, its effects appear significantly reduced thanks to the massive vaccine campaigns of 2021 and 2022.
Pfizer and BioNTech were the first developers of a Covid vaccine, dubbed Comirnaty, whose global success skyrocketed their profits. Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, whose work on mRNA helped develop the vaccine, were awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize for Medicine.
Obviously, though, people are now trying to leave the pandemic behind and are less keen on renewing their vaccine every year. According to Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, only 17% of the US adult population will get another Covid booster this year, roughly the same percentage as last year.
“Whatever will be the vaccination rate here, it is our expectation that will become a solid foundation that will be the vaccination rate for the years to come,” Bourla said.
According to Worldmeter, the number of daily Covid cases in the United States is at its lowest since the start of the pandemic. The same applies to the number of daily deaths.
It seems therefore understandable, and overall good news, that fewer people take their annual dose of the vaccine. Pfizer, BioNTech, and Moderna will have to put efforts into new research for the betterment of humanity, which will surely help their profits too.
