
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Stocks of Pfizer and other Covid vaccine makers like BioNTech and Moderna fell in premarket trading Monday after the company slashed its revenue forecasts last week, a change in fortune for the sector as demand for the pandemic-related products that propelled them to record profits last year plummets.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Pfizer shares fell 3.11% during premarket trading on Monday.</p>



<p>Shares of Germany’s BioNTech, which jointly developed the Comirnaty coronavirus shot with Pfizer, were down 6.57% in Frankfurt, falling to a two-month low.</p>



<p>The German biotech’s U.S.-listed shares were also down 6.41% in premarket trading.</p>



<p>Shares of rival mRNA vaccine maker Moderna also fell 4.45% in premarket trading.</p>



<p>Shares of Novavax, which has faced&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/2e10b2ab-7d0c-48a3-b49b-8de8dc302c6d" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">setbacks</a>&nbsp;in getting its updated protein-based shot approved, were also down 4.54% on Monday.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">NEWS PEG</h2>



<p>Pfizer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/pfizer-lowers-full-year-revenue-forecast-shares-fall-2023-10-13/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">slashed</a>&nbsp;its annual revenue&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/78003/000007800323000099/ex99_pressrelease1013.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">forecast</a>&nbsp;by 13% on Friday due to sliding demand for its Covid-19 products. Sales of the firm’s mRNA shot, produced jointly with BioNTech, and its antiviral drug Paxlovid helped it secure record profits last year but the firm has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/01/31/pfizer-expects-covid-vaccine-and-pill-revenues-will-fall-60-in-2023/?sh=2630a7787bee">long</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2022/02/08/pfizer-triggers-28-billion-stock-plunge-moderna-after-warning-covid-vaccine-sales-could-disappoint-this-year/?sh=651151e2e372">warned</a>&nbsp;about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/01/31/pfizer-expects-covid-vaccine-and-pill-revenues-will-fall-60-in-2023/?sh=2630a7787bee">sliding</a>&nbsp;demand as the world, and particularly the U.S., exits the pandemic this year. The company&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/78003/000007800323000099/ex99_pressrelease1013.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cut</a>&nbsp;its projections for Paxlovid by $7 billion and by around $2 billion for its Covid shots, which was greater than analysts&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/biontech-will-likely-take-900-mln-eur-write-off-pfizer-partnered-vaccines-2023-10-16/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">expected</a>. Pfizer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2023/10/13/pfizer-launches-35-billion-cost-cutting-program-amid-declining-covid-vaccine-sales/?sh=7e4fa27016a4">said</a>&nbsp;it was launching a $3.5 billion cost-cutting program covering jobs and expenses as it prepares for the hit to its revenues. Pfizer said it would take a write down of $5.5 billion in the third quarter due to shrinking demand for its Covid stock, most of which comes from inventory write-offs of Paxlovid worth $4.6 billion. The company also acknowledged a $900 million write off from Covid vaccine stock, a write-off BioNTech also&nbsp;<a href="https://investors.biontech.de/news-releases/news-release-details/update-regarding-pfizers-statement-comirnaty-related-write-offs" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">flagged</a>&nbsp;on Monday on account of its profit sharing agreement with Pfizer.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



<p>Moderna will report its <a href="https://investors.modernatx.com/news/news-details/2023/Moderna-to-Report-Third-Quarter-2023-Financial-Results-on-Thursday-November-2-2023/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">quarterly earnings</a> on November 2. While Moderna is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/02/22/moderna-hopes-to-build-on-mrna-tech-used-in-its-covid-shots-by-targeting-genetic-diseases/?sh=6f1fdba02692">leveraging</a> its success during the pandemic to <a href="https://www.modernatx.com/research/product-pipeline" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">develop</a> a wide array of medicines, treatments and vaccines for things including<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/04/11/vaccines-for-lyme-disease-and-norovirus-moderna-working-on-shots-targeting-tick-borne-infection-and-vomiting-bug/?sh=53602af72afe"> Lyme disease</a>, the flu, HIV, RSV, Zika, norovirus and <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/02/22/moderna-hopes-to-build-on-mrna-tech-used-in-its-covid-shots-by-targeting-genetic-diseases/?sh=6f1fdba02692">genetic conditions, </a>its Covid-19 vaccines are its only commercial product and it is particularly vulnerable to sliding demand.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2023/10/13/pfizer-launches-35-billion-cost-cutting-program-amid-declining-covid-vaccine-sales/?sh=7e4fa27016a4">Pfizer Launches $3.5 Billion Cost-Cutting Program Amid Declining Covid Vaccine Sales</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>


Florida Volunteers Take Part In COVID-19 Vaccine Trials

Vaccine Stocks—Including Pfizer, Moderna, BioNTech And Novavax—Slide Amid Plummeting Demand


<p id="h-topline"><strong>TOPLINE</strong> A Covid-19 vaccine candidate from Novavax offers strong protection against a more contagious coronavirus variant first discovered in the United Kingdom, but it’s somewhat less effective against a rapidly spreading mutation from South Africa, according to <a href="https://ir.novavax.com/news-releases/news-release-details/novavax-covid-19-vaccine-demonstrates-893-efficacy-uk-phase-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">early data</a> released Thursday, marking the latest vaccine to face some efficacy issues as new strains of the virus evolve.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h4>



<p>Novavax’s vaccine, which hasn’t been approved for use yet, was 89.3% effective in the United Kingdom, according to data from a phase 3 trial in that country (it was 86% effective against the new U.K. variant and 96% effective for&nbsp;<a href="https://ir.novavax.com/static-files/e8c12211-6544-4106-b8fb-2b74a9a01265" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">other forms</a>&nbsp;of the virus).</p>



<p>In a smaller study in South Africa, a country dominated by a highly contagious new coronavirus variant, the vaccine was just 49.4% effective, though its efficacy jumped by more than 10 points for patients who are HIV-negative.</p>



<p>Following the announcement, Novavax’s&nbsp;<a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/NVAX?p=NVAX&amp;.tsrc=fin-srch" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">share price</a>&nbsp;rose 29.2% in after-hours trading to $173.11.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h4>



<p>Novavax says it’s working on a new version of the vaccine that could offer stronger immunity against the South Africa variant, and it&nbsp;<a href="https://ir.novavax.com/static-files/e8c12211-6544-4106-b8fb-2b74a9a01265" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hopes to launch trials</a>&nbsp;in the second quarter of this year. Still, in a conference call Thursday, executives cast the South Africa results as proof its vaccine offers some protection against an increasingly common strain of the virus.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h4>



<p>In recent months, more contagious new coronavirus strains have torn through the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa and quickly spread to dozens of other countries including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/01/28/more-contagious-uk-coronavirus-strain-has-been-detected-in-over-half-of-us-states/">the</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2021/01/25/first-known-case-of-brazilian-covid-19-variant-identified-in-us/">United</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2021/01/28/first-us-cases-of-south-africa-coronavirus-strain-discovered-in-south-carolina/">States</a>. Some experts are concerned existing vaccines could offer less protection against new forms of the virus. Novavax isn’t the only vaccine developer to watch these new variants closely:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/01/25/960341384/moderna-finds-covid-19-vaccine-less-effective-against-variant-found-in-south-afr" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Moderna</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/pfizer-vaccine-only-slightly-less-effective-against-key-parts-south-n1255959" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pfizer</a>&nbsp;say their vaccines (which are currently being distributed in the United States) appear to be slightly less effective in South Africa than in the United Kingdom, leading Moderna to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2021/01/25/moderna-launches-trial-for-covid-19-vaccine-booster-to-tackle-south-african-strain/?sh=57ae6970737b">start developing</a>&nbsp;a booster to improve immunity against the South Africa variant.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">SURPRISING FACT</h4>



<p>Seasonal flu vaccines often have efficacy rates below 50%, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/vaccines-work/2019-2020.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">data</a>&nbsp;from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h4>



<p>Novavax says it plans on starting the approval process with regulators soon. The Gaithersburg, Md.-based biotech company, which specializes in vaccines, will likely ask for authorization in the United Kingdom first, executives said, and it has begun speaking with regulators in the United States, where a phase 3 trial&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/phase-3-trial-novavax-investigational-covid-19-vaccine-opens" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">kicked off last year</a>&nbsp;and is&nbsp;<a href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04611802?term=novavax&amp;draw=2&amp;rank=2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">expected to wrap up</a>&nbsp;in March. Novavax has&nbsp;<a href="https://ir.novavax.com/news-releases/news-release-details/novavax-announces-16-billion-funding-operation-warp-speed" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">agreed to produce</a>&nbsp;100 million doses for U.S. patients, part of a deal struck through Operation Warp Speed last year.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h4>



<p>“We look forward to continuing to work with our partners, collaborators, investigators and regulators around the world to make the vaccine available as quickly as possible,” Novavax CEO Stanley Erck said in a statement Thursday.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h4>



<p><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/novavax-vaccine-is-89-effective-against-covid-19-in-u-k-study-11611867720" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Novavax Vaccine Is 89% Effective Against Covid-19 in U.K. Study (Wall Street Journal)</a></p>



<p><em>-by Joe Walsh, Forbes Staff</em></p>


Tag: Novavax Vaccine

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Vaccine Stocks—Including Pfizer, Moderna, BioNTech And Novavax—Slide Amid Plummeting Demand

Novavax Covid Vaccine Is Highly Effective Against U.K. Variant But Struggled In South Africa, Data Shows