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- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
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- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
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- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
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- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
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- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
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- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
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- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
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- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
Pfizer sees Covid-19 drug sales topping $50 bn in 2022
Pfizer forecast more than $50 billion in 2022 sales for its Covid-19 vaccine and therapeutic on Tuesday as the pharmaceutical giant reported a more than doubling of annual profits on strong sales of its innoculation.
Pfizer, whose vaccinee developed with German company BioNTech was the first approved to counter the deadly virus, sees slightly lower 2022 revenues for the vaccine compared with the just-finished year, but a big infusion of revenues from Paxlovid, the company's pill for Covid-19.
Chief Executive Albert Bourla described 2021 as a "watershed year" for Pfizer, adding that the company's efforts in the pandemic "have fundamentally changed our company forever."
Still, shares fell Tuesday following the results, which lagged estimates in terms of fourth-quarter revenues.
Besides vaccines, sales were mixed across Pfizer's other divisions. Revenues dipped for internal medicine and inflammation and immunology, but rose for oncology, hospitals and rare disease.
Analysts have also projected higher 2022 profits compared with the company's forecasts.
- Heavy interest in therapeutic -
Pfizer reported annual profits of $22 billion, more than double the 2020 level. Annual revenues nearly doubled to $81.3 billion, with $36.8 billion from the Covid-19 vaccine.
The company projected 2022 revenues of between $98 and $102 billion.
The results are the latest to show how the coronavirus has transformed Pfizer, which a year ago had projected just $15 billion in Covid-19 vaccines sales in 2021 and ended up selling more than twice that amount after repeatedly lifting the forecast.
For 2022, Pfizer expects $32 billion in revenue from Covid-19 vaccines and $22 billion in revenues from Paxlovid.
Bourla said the company is currently working on a new vaccine candidate based on the Omicron variant of Covid-19, as well as a new "potential next-generation oral Covid-19 treatment."
The company expects to produce 120 million treatment courses for Paxlovid, with six million in the first quarter and 30 million the first half of 2022.
Pfizer executives described heavy interest in Paxlovid, with ongoing contract talks with about 100 governments around the world. The treatment has so far been approved in about 40 countries.
Bourla said the sales for Paxlovid "could be way bigger" than current forecasts. The 2022 estimate of $22 billion is based on signed contracts and negotiations where there is essentially an agreement, he said.
However, Chief Financial Officer Frank D'Amelio cautioned that there was "less potential upside" to 2022 estimates for Covid-19 vaccine revenues, compared with 2021 "when the vaccine was newly available and few people had received any doses of the vaccine."
Pfizer's scientists "continue to monitor the Covid-19 virus and believe it is unlikely that it will be fully eradicated in the foreseeable future," Bourla said.
"That said, we now have the tools -- in the forms of vaccines and treatments -- that we believe will help enable us to not only better manage the pandemic but also help countries move into the endemic phase," Bourla said.
"In other words, we believe these tools will help allow us to go back to normality and spend time with family and friends, travel, attend indoor dining and concerts, and enjoy many other activities while lowering the risk of overburdening hospitals and healthcare systems around the world."
Shares fell 2.8 percent to $51.75 in midday trading.
D.Kaufman--AMWN