Pharmaceutical companies rake in billions from Covid hits



[ad_1]

Published on:

Paris (AFP)

Covid vaccines have brought billions of dollars to drug company coffers.

The German BioNTech, maker with its partner Pfizer of the pioneering mRNA jab, on Monday raised its vaccine revenue forecast for 2021 in its latest report on the results.

Here are the numbers of companies that publish financial results:

– Biggest winners: Pfizer and BioNTech –

US companies Pfizer and BioNTech have taken a step ahead of their rivals as they were the first in the Western world to report positive results from their vaccine’s clinical trials last year.

They were also the first to obtain permission from regulators in the United States and the European Union to sell their shot.

Pfizer earned more than its competitors, taking in $ 10.8 billion (€ 9.2 billion) in the first half of this year.

The U.S. company has raised its outlook for 2021, expecting to generate revenue of $ 33.5 billion for the full year.

BioNTech announced Tuesday a turnover of 7.3 billion euros in the first half. Unlike its larger partner, the company’s only product on sale is the coronavirus vaccine.

BioNTech expects vaccine revenue to reach € 15.9 billion for the full year, up from a previous estimate of € 9.8 billion.

– Moderna the other mRNA champion –

The American startup Moderna is the only other company to have produced an authorized mRNA vaccine so far.

Messenger RNA technology works by providing human cells with the genetic instructions to make a coronavirus surface protein, which trains the immune system to recognize the real virus.

Like BioNTech, the company’s only product on the market is the Covid vaccine. The vaccine requires two injections weeks apart.

Moderna posted sales of $ 5.9 billion in the first six months of the year.

He hopes to make $ 20 billion in revenue from the vaccine this year.

– AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson trail –

British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and US firm Johnson & Johnson got their vaccines approved by the EU later than their rivals.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine is one of the world’s leading vaccines and has been essential in the UK’s rapid vaccination campaign – which saw the English economy fully reopen this month.

But it has not been approved by US drug regulators.

Johnson & Johson’s vaccine – manufactured by Janssen, its Belgian subsidiary – has the advantage of being administered in one injection instead of two like those of its rivals.

AstraZeneca and J&J do not use mRNA technology.

They both made more traditional viral vector vaccines, which use a genetically engineered version of a cold-causing adenovirus as a “vector” to transfer genetic instructions into human cells.

The two companies also pledged to sell their vaccines at cost during the pandemic, meaning they would not make a profit.

They are cheaper than the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna jabs, which is reflected in their revenue.

AstraZeneca’s Covid jab generated $ 1.2 billion in sales in the first six months of the year.

J&J had sales of $ 264 million and plans to make $ 2.5 billion for the full year. AstraZeneca did not provide a detailed estimate for the entire year.

[ad_2]
Source link