Pfizer reported a total of $36.78 billion in global direct sales and alliance revenue from its two-dose COVID-19 vaccine in 2021 and intends to top that incredible amount of revenue this year.
In an earnings report released Tuesday, the company said it expects to reach $54 billion in sales in 2022 with two projects aimed at the health crisis: $32 billion in gross revenue for the vaccine and $22 billion in gross revenue for its COVID-19 antiviral treatment, Paxlovid.
ARE NEGOTIATORS ‘FIGHTING TO LOWER DRUG PRICES’ ACTUALLY MAKING THEM HIGHER
“In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, we committed to use all of the resources and expertise we had at our disposal to help protect populations globally against this deadly virus, as well as to offer treatments to help avoid the worst outcomes when infections do occur. We put billions of dollars of capital on the line in pursuit of those goals, not knowing whether those investments would ever pay off,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said.
Pfizer reported $22 billion in total profits across its business operations profits in 2021, more than double from the prior year, which was over $9.1 billion. The company’s total revenue for 2021 before expenses rose to $81.2 billion, double the prior year, which was about $41.7 billion. Not accounting for Comirnaty and Paxlovid, gross revenues grew 6% to $44.4 billion in 2021 from the prior year, the company said.
Pfizer CFO Frank D’Amelio said the company exceeded its goal in 2021 and manufactured more than 3 billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. The company previously said it is aiming to manufacture 4 billion doses of the vaccine in 2022.
About $7.8 billion of its $36.78 billion COVID-19 vaccine revenue came from the United States. Pfizer noted that its sales data for Comirnaty does not include the revenue from BioNTech’s “Comirnaty-related manufacturing activities.” BioNTech is a German company that partnered with Pfizer on the development of the vaccine.
The company’s next highest vaccine revenue on its earnings report was its Prevnar family, a group of vaccines that target a type of pneumonia, which netted about $5.3 billion globally and $2.7 billion domestically in 2021. Comirnaty is the highest-grossing pharmaceutical ever in a single year, with Humira coming in a distant second at $20.7 billion, Axios reported. Humira is an immunosuppressive drug used to treat illnesses such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
The COVID-19 vaccines are distributed to U.S. citizens free of charge at the point of access. The U.S. and other countries have made agreements to purchase the COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer. It is unclear how much of the nearly $37 billion for Comirnaty came from government contracts.
News of Pfizer’s vaccine revenue figures drew some scrutiny on social media, particularly among commentators who have been skeptical about the COVID-19 vaccines and pandemic mandates. Among them was Lisa Boothe, a conservative, who asked, “Was mass vaccinating in the public’s interest or Pfizer’s?”
Was mass vaccinating in the public’s interest or Pfizer’s? https://t.co/ojPAhfiCNE
— Lisa Boothe (@LisaMarieBoothe) February 8, 2022
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Despite the staggering figures, Pfizer’s stock price finished down about 3% at $51.7 a share Tuesday as its annual earnings numbers fell short of market expectations.
The company said it plans to continue collaborating with BioNTech on future research and development projects, including a clinical study to assess a possible omicron-based vaccine candidate. Bourla previously said he believes the two companies will have a vaccine for omicron ready by March.
