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Pfizer CEO Had Dinner With RFK Jr.: ‘I’m Cautiously Optimistic’ in Spite of His History With Vaccines
In an earnings call Tuesday, Pfizer balanced strong financial performance with strategic shifts aimed at future growth. The pharmaceutical juggernaut reported 6.7% growth in 2024, with revenue reaching $63.6 billion. Pfizer’s non-COVID product portfolio grew 12% operationally, exceeding expectations and showcasing the company’s diversified strength beyond its pandemic-related offerings.
The call happened as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s (RFK Jr.’s) nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services moved forward in the Senate Finance Committee. When asked about working with the noted vaccine skeptic, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla remained focused on the positive.
He noted that he had dinner with RFK Jr. and said, “I focus more not on the things that we clearly disagree, like the vaccines, but on the things that we can agree and we can do things together… I’m cautiously optimistic.”
RFK Jr. Likely to Win Confirmation to Top Trump Health Role as Key GOP Senator Says He’ll Vote Yes
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) is set to win confirmation to head the Department of Health and Human Services after his nomination cleared the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday and a key Republican senator assented to his confirmation.
The committee voted for RFK Jr. 14-13 along party lines, sending his nomination to the Senate floor for a vote, probably next week. Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy (La.) joined all other Republicans on the committee in voting yes, and said in a speech following that vote that he would support RFK Jr.’s confirmation.
It had not been clear how Cassidy, a physician who expressed misgivings about RFK Jr. last week, would vote. Republicans have only one more member on the committee than Democrats, so Cassidy had the power to decide the vote. No Republican senators have said they will vote against Kennedy.
Nasal COVID-19 Vaccine to Enter US Clinical Trials
A nasal vaccine for COVID-19 — based on technology developed at Washington University in St. Louis — is poised to enter a phase 1 clinical trial in the U.S. after an investigational new drug application from Ocugen, Inc. was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Ocugen, a U.S.-based biotechnology company, licensed the innovative technology from WashU in 2022.
The trial will be conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, of the National Institutes of Health. The FDA’s action is a critical first step toward initiation of the phase 1 trial, planned for this spring. While cases of COVID-19 have fallen dramatically since the early years of the pandemic, the virus continues to circulate and still causes significant illnesses and deaths.
The nasal vaccine technology is designed to induce strong immunity in the nose and upper respiratory tract, right where the virus enters the body, thereby potentially stopping transmission of the virus in addition to reducing serious illness and death.
GSK, Pfizer Sales of RSV Shots Slow as Vaccination Rates Ebb
Sales of both GSK’s and Pfizer’s vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus dropped significantly in the last three months of 2024, compared the same period one year before.
In a earnings report Tuesday, Pfizer said sales of its vaccine Abrysvo fell 62% year over year in the fourth quarter. The company attributed the drop mainly to “a significant reduction in vaccination rates in the U.S.” among older adults eligible for the shot after U.S. guidelines were narrowed last summer.
GSK reported a similar state of affairs Wednesday. Sales of its RSV vaccine Arexvy declined 69% year over year due to lower demand “related to a more limited recommendation … for individuals aged 60 to 74,” as well “channel inventory consumption.”
Merck Halts Gardasil Shipments to China, Withdraws $11B Sales Target as Demand Nosedives
The continued decline of Merck & Co.’s HPV vaccine Gardasil in China has come to a head as the New Jersey drug giant is halting shipments to the world’s second-most populous country.
Thanks to ongoing market challenges, Merck is temporarily cutting off Gardasil deliveries to China from February through at least the middle of 2025. The move should help the drugmaker clear out excess doses of the vaccine cluttering its inventory, Merck said in an earnings presentation Tuesday.
Over the last three months of 2024, Gardasil generated $1.6 billion in sales globally, signaling an 18% decline compared to the same period in 2023. For the full year, during which Merck generated total revenues of $64.2 billion, Gardasil sales dropped 3% to $8.6 billion.
STAT+: Study of Amgen’s Early Obesity Candidate Paused by FDA
Amgen said Tuesday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has ordered a hold on a study of the company’s early-stage obesity candidate, another potential setback in the company’s efforts to join the booming weight loss drug market.
Amgen has so far said little about the drug, dubbed AMG 513, and has not described the drug’s mechanism. On a call with analysts, Amgen executives did not explain why AMG 513 is on a clinical hold, other than to say “it’s not related to the drug” and that discussions are underway to reopen the study.
There’s been more attention around the company’s later-stage candidate, MariTide, a monthly injectable that investors hoped could compete against drugs on the market like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. But the company late last year reported that MariTide produced about 20% weight loss in patients enrolled in a Phase 2 trial — results that fell short of investors’ expectations.
Flies in Hospital Wards May Be Spreading Drug-Resistant Bacteria to Patients
Flies buzzing between beds may be spreading drug-resistant bugs among patients in hospitals, according to new research. Researchers from the Ineos Oxford Institute for antimicrobial research (IOI) found that houseflies in Nigerian hospitals carry bacteria resistant to some key antibiotics, including those used only as a last resort.
Antimicrobial resistance, when pathogens such as bacteria and viruses develop resistance to the drugs used to tackle them, is a global threat that is forecast to kill more than 39 million people before 2050. Infections that are picked up by patients while in hospital for other treatments are also a growing concern.
Scientists at the IOI worked with researchers in Nigeria to collect 1,396 flies from eight hospitals in six cities, using sticky traps.
