Pfizer has forecast major sales expectations for its BioNTech-partnered COVID-19 vaccine, BNT162b2, in its fourth quarter results – aiming for approximately $15bn in revenues for 2021.
The company said that the 2021 guidance for the vaccine mainly includes doses that are expected to be delivered in the year under existing contracts, adding that it may be adjusted dependent on future additional contracts.
In the fourth quarter of 2020 alone BNT162b2 contributed $154m to Pfizer’s overall sales.
For Pfizer’s total vaccine franchise, the company reported $6.56bn for the combined sales of all its products across the entire year in its 2020 Q4 results.
“We continue to expect that we can manufacture up to two billion doses in 2021. However, given it’s still early in the year, we are not projecting that we will sell all those doses,” said Frank D’Amelio, chief financial officer and executive VP of global supply, Pfizer.
“Ultimately, we may contract for all the doses. But for the purposes for our initial guidance, we primarily included doses that are covered by strong supply agreements with various governments.
“Based on this, we currently forecast approximately $15bn in COVID vaccine revenue, which is what you see here. Given that we remain in negotiations for additional contracts, we are not providing the number of doses behind the revenue estimate,” he added.
The vaccine got its first global approval in the UK on 2 December, while the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) closely followed with its own authorisation on 11 December.
Pfizer and BioNTech have a number of large contracts in place globally for millions of doses of their vaccine.
This includes an agreement with the US government to supply a total of 200 million doses, with the companies expecting to deliver the full amount by the end of May 2021.
Across the Atlantic, the EU has also ordered a total of 300 million doses, although Pfizer did not disclose the timeline for deliveries in its fourth quarter update.
The UK government has secured 40 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, while a principle agreement with international vaccines-sharing facility COVAX for up to 40 million doses to be delivered throughout 2021 has also been announced.
“As the world looks forward to 2021 with renewed hope for better days ahead, we also look forward with renewed confidence and resolve in our ability to fulfil our purpose, to deliver breakthroughs that change patients’ lives,” said Albert Bourla, chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer.