Pfizer is betting big on cancer drugs to turn business around after Covid decline – here’s what to know

Pfizer
is
ready
to
move
on
from
Covid. 

Now,
the
company
is
betting
on

cancer
drugs
to
help
it
regain
its
footing
after
a
rocky
year
marked
by
the

rapid
decline
of
its
Covid
business.
It
just
might
take
a
while
before
that
bet
pays
off. 

Pfizer
pitched
its
deeper
push
into
oncology
during
a
four-hour

investor
event
last
week.
And
it
had
a
splashy
60-second

Super
Bowl
ad
that
touted
its

initiative
to
“outdo
cancer.” 

The
shift
comes
at
a
crucial
time
for
Pfizer.
The
pharmaceutical
giant
has
been
trying
to
shore
up
investor
sentiment
after
its
shares
fell
more
than
40%
in
2023.
That
share
drop
erased
more
than
$100
billion
in
Pfizer’s
market
value.

Along
with
plummeting
demand
for
its
Covid
products,
Pfizer
disappointed
Wall
Street
last
year
with
the
underwhelming
launch
of
a
new

RSV
shot,
a
twice-daily
weight
loss
pill
that

fell
short
in
clinical
trials
and
a
2024

forecast
that
missed
expectations.
The
company
has
launched
a
$4
billion

cost-cutting
program,
laying
off
hundreds
of
employees
and
shaving
down
its
research
and
development
spending. 

During
the
investor
day,
Pfizer
laid
out
its
priorities
now
that
it
has
fully
integrated
with
the
targeted
cancer
drugmaker
Seagen.
That

$43
billion
Seagen
acquisition
doubled
Pfizer’s
oncology
drug
pipeline
to
60
different
experimental
programs. 

With
Seagen
under
its
belt,
Pfizer
says
its
drug
pipeline
could
produce
at
least
eight
blockbuster
medicines
by
2030,
up
from
just
five
today.
But
the
company
did
not
disclose
which
drugs
it
believes
could
offer
that
potential. 

Some
analysts
noted
that
it
might
take
a
few
years
for
some
of
Pfizer’s
cancer
drugs
in
mid-stage
development
to
show
pivotal
clinical
trial
data
and
become
less
risky. 

Pfizer’s
existing
oncology
portfolio
is
also
facing
some
competitive
pressure.
Revenue
from
the
blockbuster
breast
cancer
drug
Ibrance
and
prostate
cancer
treatment
Xtandi,
which
Pfizer
shares
with

Astellas
Pharma,
has
declined
over
the
past
year.
Both
drugs
are
expected
to
lose
market
exclusivity
in
2027. 

Still,
some
analysts
came
out
of
the
investor
day
feeling
encouraged. 

“The
company
is
facing
a
number
of
challenges,
but
we
believe
the
event
was
a
success
in
laying
out
a
path
for
the
oncology
business
to
help
offset
upcoming
patent
losses,
and
drive
growth
in
the
future,”
Guggenheim
analysts
wrote
in
a
note
Tuesday. 

Pfizer
used
the
investor
event
to
formally
introduce
its
new
business
division
dedicated
to
cancer
research
and
to
lay
out
a
long-term
strategy
for
it
through
the
end
of
the
decade.

That
oncology
unit
hosts
a
sprawling
portfolio
of
experimental
medicines
that
Pfizer
and
Seagen
discovered
or
acquired
through
deals,
as
well
as
the
treatments
both
companies
have
long
been
selling. 

The
unit
is
led
by
Chris
Boshoff,
a
longtime
Pfizer
executive
who
most
recently
served
as
the
company’s
head
of
cancer
research
and
development. 

“As
a
newly
combined
organization,
our
expertise
and
collective
capabilities
are
now
amplified
to
deliver
even
more
impact
for
patients
than
each
company
could
do
by
itself,”
Boshoff
said
last
week
to
kick
off
the
event.
 

Boshoff
highlighted
the
scale
of
Pfizer’s
capabilities,
noting
it
has
10
manufacturing
sites
producing
cancer
drugs
on
three
continents,
while
Seagen
had
just
one.
He
also
pointed
to
Pfizer’s
commercial
presence
in
more
than
100
countries
and
a
customer-facing
commercial
team
that
is
triple
the
size
of
Seagen’s. 

Pfizer
did
not
provide
a
specific
sales
projection
for
its
oncology
franchise
by
2030.
But
the
company
said
it
expects
roughly
two-thirds
of
risk-adjusted
oncology
revenue
to
come
from
new
drugs
and
new
indications
—
or
treatment
uses
—
for
existing
products
by
the
end
of
the
decade.

Pfizer
reiterated
its
expectation
that
the
Seagen
acquisition
will
bring
in
$10
billion
in
sales
by
2030. 

But
the
company
provided
little
guidance
on
what
Seagen’s
growth
will
look
like
until
the
end
of
the
decade,
UBS
analyst
Trung
Huynh
said
in
a
note
Thursday. 

Pfizer
also
highlighted
a
huge
shift
in
its
drug
pipeline
strategy. 

Boshoff
said
the
oncology
division
plans
to
shift
to
biologic
drugs
as
its
main
source
of
revenue,
increasing
the
proportion
of
those
treatments
in
its
pipeline
from
6%
to
65%
by
2030.

Biologics
are
treatments
derived
from
living
sources
such
as
animals
or
humans,
including
vaccines,
stem
cell
treatments
and
gene
therapies.
They
are
among
the
most
expensive
prescription
drugs
in
the
U.S.

Before
the
Seagen
deal,
94%
of
Pfizer’s
cancer
products
were
small-molecule
drugs.
Those
medicines
are
made
of
chemicals
and
have
low
molecular
weights. 

Boshoff
said
biologics
represent
“a
more
durable
revenue
potential”
based
on
several
factors.
That
includes
upcoming
patent
expirations
and
potential
pressure
from
President

Joe
Biden‘s
Inflation
Reduction
Act. 

A
provision
of
that
law
allows
Medicare
to
start

negotiating
the
prices
of
biologics
as
early
as
13
years
after
they
receive
Food
and
Drug
Administration
approval,
compared
with
just
nine
years
for
small-molecule
drugs.
The
pharmaceutical
industry
has

argued
that
would
deter
drugmakers
from
investing
in
small
molecules.

Pfizer’s
decision
to
rely
more
on
biologics
may
also
offer
“better
protection”
against
competition
from
cheaper
copycats,
Guggenheim
analysts
said
in
their
note.
Those
copycats,
or
biosimilars,
have
historically
had
trouble
gaining
market
share
from
biologic
treatments.
That’s
unlike
with
drugs
called
generics,
which
are
exact
copies
of
small-molecule
treatments. 

Small
molecules
will
remain
one
of
three
core
drug
types
of
Pfizer’s
oncology
division.
The
other
two
are
biologics,
namely
bispecific
antibodies,
and
antibody-drug
conjugates,
or
ADCs. 

Notably,
the
company
is
developing
a
“next-generation”
platform
for
ADCs
that
combines
Pfizer’s
protein
engineering
and
antibody
design
capabilities
with
Seagen’s
ADC
technology.
Together,
the
companies
have
12
ADCs
in
development,
six
of
which
are
in
early
clinical
trials
or
studies
on
animals.

JPMorgan
analyst
Chris
Schott
wrote
in
a
note
last
week
that
the
firm
walked
away
from
the
investor
event
encouraged
by
the
breadth
of
Pfizer’s
mid-stage
oncology
pipeline.
But
he
noted
that
it
will
take
time
before
a
number
of
the
treatments
show
“pivotal
data.”

Pfizer
plans
to
focus
on
four
main
types
of
cancer:
breast
cancer;
genitourinary
cancer,
which
impacts
urinary
and
genital
organs
or
functions;
thoracic
cancer,
such
as
lung,
head
and
neck
cancer;
and
hematology-oncology,
or
cancers
of
the
blood,
such
as
multiple
myeloma
and
lymphomas. 

Pfizer
expects
breast
cancer’s
contribution
to
total
oncology
sales
to
drop
to
about
10%
by
2030
from
roughly
40%
last
year,
the
company’s
oncology
commercial
chief
Suneet
Varma
said
during
the
event. 

That
decline
accounts
for
the
upcoming
loss
of
exclusivity
of
top-seller
Ibrance,
which
raked
in
$4.75
billion
in

sales
in
2023. 

But
the
company
said
it
has
a
handful
of
breast
cancer
drugs
in
development
that
could
become
“potential
growth
drivers”
as
Ibrance
sales
fall.
That
includes
a
certain
type
of
treatment
called
atirmociclib
that
could
potentially
be
more
effective
and
easier
for
patients
to
tolerate. 

Pfizer
is
testing
the
medicine
as
a
second-line
treatment
for
a
certain
type
of
breast
cancer
in
a
phase
three
trial.
A
second-line
therapy
is
given
when
an
initial
treatment
doesn’t
work
or
stops
working. 

The
company
also
plans
to
start
a
separate
late-stage
trial
on
atirmociclib
as
a
first
treatment
for
the
same
condition
in
the
second
half
of
the
year.

Pfizer
expects
genitourinary
cancer
to
make
up
an
estimated
35%
of
oncology
sales
by
2030,
which
would
make
it
the
largest
franchise
of
the
cancer
business.
That’s
up
from
20%
in
2023. 

Pfizer
is
testing
an
experimental
ADC
called
disitamab
vedotin
—
which
Seagen
licensed
from
Chinese
firm
RemeGe
—
as
a
treatment
for
certain
bladder
cancers,
with
data
from
mid-stage
and
late-stage
trials
expected
in
2025
and
2026.

Notably,
RemeGe
already
sells
that
drug
in
China.
Pfizer
is
also
examining
the
medicine’s
potential
to
treat
breast
cancer
and
other
tumor
types.

Meanwhile,
Padcev,
an
ADC
Pfizer
shares
with
Astellas
Pharma,
in
combination
with


Merck‘s
immunotherapy
Keytruda
is
becoming
a
new
first-line
standard
of
care
for
bladder
cancer.
Pfizer
executives
last
week
said
Padcev
had
“mega-blockbuster”
potential,
which
the
company
defines
as
raking
in
annual
sales
of
more
than
$3
billion. 

Pfizer
executives
expect
thoracic
cancer
to
double
its
revenue
contributions
by
2030. 

Seagen
brings
an
ADC
called
sigvotatug
vedotin
to
this
franchise.
The
drug
recently
entered
a
late-stage
trial
as
a
second-line
treatment
for
a
certain
type
of
lung
cancer,
with
data
expected
around
2026
to
2027. Pfizer
also
plans
to
test
the
ADC
as
a
first-line
treatment.

Guggenheim
analysts
said
they
expect
the
treatment
to
be
one
of
Pfizer’s
blockbuster
oncology
drugs
by
the
end
of
the
decade. Those
analysts
also
expect
a
bispecific
drug
called
Elrexfio,
which
falls
under
Pfizer’s
hematology-oncology
portfolio,
to
eventually
become
a
top
seller.

The
hematology-oncology
franchise
is
expected
to
account
for
25%
of
the
cancer
unit’s
sales
by
2030,
up
from
just
10%
in
2023. 

The
FDA
has

approved
Elrexfio
for
patients
with
multiple
myeloma
who
have
tried
at
least
four
prior
types
of
therapy.
But
Pfizer
is
conducting
two
late-stage
clinical
trials
on
Elrexfio
as
a
second-line
treatment,
with
data
not
expected
until
around
2025
and
2026. 

Pfizer
is
splitting
the
rest
of
its
business
outside
of
oncology
into
two
divisions:
a
U.S.
commercial
unit
and
an
international
commercial
unit.
Those
divisions
are
focusing
on
vaccines,
along
with
metabolic
and
inflammatory
conditions. 

This
fall,
Pfizer
plans
to
roll
out
another
updated
version
of
its
Covid
vaccine
that
will
target
a
new
strain
of
the
virus. 

The
company
previously
outlined
plans
to
develop
“next-generation”
versions
of
its
Covid
shot,
which
aim
to
broaden
and
extend
the
protection
people
get
to
a
full
year. 

But
Pfizer
hasn’t
decided
whether
to
move
forward
with
those
plans
because
the
company
needs
to
be
convinced
that
there
is
still
an
“eagerness
to
embrace
Covid
intervention,”
Dr.
Mikael
Dolsten,
the
company’s
chief
scientific
officer,
told
CNBC
in
an
interview
last
week.

Dolsten
pointed
to
two
other
“strong
pillars”
in
the
company’s
vaccine
portfolio:
bacterial
and
viral
shots.
The
company
is
testing
a
“fourth-generation”
version
of
its
vaccine
to
prevent
pneumococcal
disease,
which
is
caused
by
a
bacteria
that
can
attack
different
parts
of
the
body.

Pfizer
is
also
working
to
expand
the
use
of
its
shot
against
respiratory
syncytial
virus,
commonly
called
RSV,
to
high-risk
patients
ages
18
to
59.
It’s
currently
approved
in
the
U.S.
for
expectant
mothers
and
adults
age
60
and
above. 

The
company
is
also
testing
combination
vaccines
targeting
multiple
respiratory
viruses,
including
a
shot
for
Covid
and
the
flu
in
late-stage
development.

Outside
of
vaccines,
the
company
is
developing
an
oral
treatment
for
sickle
cell
disease
called
GBT601.
Pfizer
views
that
drug
as
a
potentially
more
effective
successor
to
its
drug
Oxbryta,
which
is
already
approved
for
the
condition.

Pfizer
also
expects
to
release
mid-stage
trial
data
on
its
experimental
treatment
for
cancer
cachexia,
or
what
Dolsten
called
“the
opposite
of
obesity.”
It
refers
to
the
loss
of
body
weight
and
muscle
mass,
along
with
weakness
that
may
occur
in
patients
with
cancer,
AIDS
or
other
chronic
diseases.

Another
area
that’s
top
of
mind
for
investors
is
obesity.
Pfizer
expects
to
release
early-stage
trial
data
on
a
once-daily
version
of
its
experimental
weight
loss
pill,
danuglipron,
in
the
first
half
of
the
year.
The
company
is
also
working
on
a
second
drug
for
obesity,
but
has
not
disclosed
how
it
will
work. 

Dolsten
touted
the
potential
of
a
weight-loss
drug
pill,
which
could
help
meet
the
soaring
demand
for
obesity
treatments.
Much
of
the
existing
injectable
drugs
for
the
condition
are
in
shortage
in
the
U.S. He
also
noted
that
a
pill
would
likely
be
priced
differently
than
injections,
which
cost
around
$1,000
per
month
before
insurance. 

“A
pill
would
allow
you
also
to
have
more
access,”
Dolsten
said.
“If
you
have
300
million
patients
per
year,
it
will
be
one
of
the
biggest
medications
ever.”