Pfizer CEO: Cancer is “the new Covid for us”

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla revealed ambitious plans to move into the "cancer treatment market" after the end of the "Covid-19" pandemic and the decline in global demand for vaccines, according to Fox Business.

Bourla said that Pfizer expects to achieve significant results in developing “blockbuster” cancer drugs, as the American pharmaceutical company seeks to compensate for the decline in its business after the “Covid” pandemic, which contributed to achieving record revenues for the company.

In 2022 alone, Pfizer's total sales amounted to about $157 billion, with the Covid vaccine accounting for $37.8 billion, and the antiviral treatment tablets "Baxlovid" accounting for approximately $18.9 billion.

But sales fell by more than half in 2023, reaching $71 billion. The company's shares have also fallen by 42% since the end of 2022 amid the rapid decline in demand for its Covid-related products.

As a result, the company launched major cost-cutting plans, including laying off hundreds of workers at its facilities in the United Kingdom, the United States and Ireland.

Speaking to Fox Business, Bourla praised the measures as a "very good cost-containment" campaign, and credited them with the "very good results" his company showed in early 2024.

The CEO added: “Oncology is the new Covid for us. We did what we did with Covid. We are very proud that we saved the world, but it is behind us now. We want to do it again, and I think oncology is our best chance.” To do that".

In late 2023, the US drugmaker completed the $43 billion acquisition of Seagen (formerly Seattle Genetics), a biotechnology company specializing in drugs based on monoclonal antibodies, also known as ADCs, designed to kill cancer cells while sparing tissues. The sound one.

Seagen was previously known for its flagship product Adcetris, which is used to treat Hodgkin's lymphoma. 

Another of the company's drugs, called Badsafe, also showed "exceptional performance," according to Bourla.

"Badsafe" is used to treat bladder cancer, and its sales have grown by 164% since it was acquired by Pfizer. 

“This shows how well we are investing the money,” Bourla said. He also promised future blockbuster drugs that would have a significant impact on cancer patients.