Pfizer reports $36 billion in COVID-19 vaccine sales in 2021

On Tuesday, Pfizer raised the sales forecast for its Covid-19 vaccine to $36 billion, which represents a 7.5 percent increase, as it plans to continue signing deals with countries for booster doses.

The company also said it is on pace to hand out 2.3 billion doses of the vaccine out of the 3 billion it plans to make as the shots have been cleared for use in children. 

The company also expects to bring in $50 billion from the vaccine in addition to the Paxlovid therapeutic through this calendar year. Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla described 2021 as a “watershed year” for the corporation, noting that the Pfizer’s efforts throughout the pandemic “have fundamentally changed our company forever.”

Pfizer executives have already signaled heavy interest in the therapeutic drug Paxlovid by many countries, as the company has had contract talks with roughly 100 governments around the globe. So far, the treatment has been approved in around 40 countries.

Bourla indicated that sales for Paxlovid “could be way bigger” than what current forecasts have suggested, and the 2022 estimate of $22 billion is only based on signed contracts and negotiations where there is an agreement already. 

While Pfizer 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.

He added, “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.”