Corona is over, but its gains remain.. How did pharmaceutical companies profit from producing vaccines?

4 years since the Corona pandemic… and its economic effects are still extending

Many companies and productive sectors are still feeling the consequences of the Corona pandemic, which has been going on for four years, as many companies emerged from this pandemic losing millions or billions, but on the other hand, some of them gained billions of dollars.

The top gainers come from Corona pandemicvaccine manufacturers, and other medical supplies manufacturers, such as medical masks, isolation clothing, injection tools, etc.

Among the winners were Pfizer and our company, the two most famous companies that produced Corona vaccines.

Pfizer’s market value exceeded $300 billion, a 50% increase from its value before the Corona pandemic, and Moderna shares rose more than 1,000% during the same period.

In 2022, Pfizer became the first pharmaceutical company to earn more than $100 billion in annual sales due to government purchases of its vaccines and antiviral tablets.

A phased retreat

These gains have begun to decline this year, as demand for Covid vaccines and treatments has declined, and Pfizer’s total revenues have fallen by more than 40% since last year.

Earlier this month, the company took a $5.5 billion writedown on its Covid products due to “lower-than-expected demand.”

Pfizer is laying off hundreds of employees as its shares trade below where they were at the start of the pandemic.

As for Moderna, it has lost more than $100 billion in market value over the past two years, due to declining revenues.

In September, Moderna canceled a vaccine program against pediatric human pneumonia and parainfluenza viruses, which are respiratory viruses that generally cause cold or flu symptoms.

Expected gains

The decline in demand for Covid products is neither surprising nor bad news, as it will push investment and broader pharmaceutical research.

For example, gene therapies will develop, which have the potential to treat lifelong inherited diseases and, unlike Covid vaccines, are one-time treatments.

Next month, the Food and Drug Administration is preparing to approve two treatments to reverse sickle cell disease, which affects more than 100,000 Americans.

The Crispr gene-editing technology can reduce cholesterol in patients born with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, researchers reported Nov. 12.

Pfizer is seeking FDA approval for a gene therapy that enables people with hemophilia to produce a blood-clotting substance so they don’t have to get regular blood transfusions.

Covid vaccines were the first mRNA products, but the technology has opened a much bigger door in cancer treatment.

Moderna is developing a melanoma vaccine in collaboration with Merck, which trains the immune system to track down and kill cancer cells.

A trial last year found that the vaccine reduced the risk of death or cancer recurrence by 44% when combined with Keytruda immunotherapy.

Last month, BioNTech launched a large-scale trial of a vaccine specifically designed to treat pancreatic cancer after an early trial found it may prevent or delay relapses in about 50% of patients.

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are developing new obesity treatment drugs that help overweight and obese patients lose 15% to 20% of their body weight.

That’s why these drugs are expected to open up a huge new market, and why Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are now valued at more than $900 billion combined.

Experts expect that pharmaceutical and vaccine companies will return to achieving profits that may exceed those of Covid vaccines, with the development of new medicines and vaccines that rely on the same medical technology that was used in developing Covid vaccines.

Although Covid may be over or significantly reduced, it has opened the door to big gains for pharmaceutical companies, thanks to the success of producing mRNA products.