Pfizer expects to rake in about $15 billion from its coronavirus vaccine this year — about a quarter of its entire projected 2021 revenue.
The staggering stat was revealed Tuesday in a financial forecast from the Manhattan-based drugmaker, which said its revenue for the year would range between $59 billion and $61 billion.
Pfizer thinks the groundbreaking shot developed with German partner BioNTech will make money as well as save lives — it expects to see a profit margin of more than 20 percent of the shot’s total revenues.
The COVID-19 vaccine is on track to be Pfizer’s top product this year after it became the first to be cleared for emergency use in the US in December.
The company expects to produce 2 billion doses of the vaccine this year, which would be enough to inoculate 1 billion people with the standard two-dose regimen.
Pfizer said its vaccine sales projections primarily account for doses that will be delivered under existing contracts, though the number may change as more deals are signed. The pharma firm has inked agreements to provide vaccine supplies to governments around the world, including 200 million doses for the US.
“I feel confident in our ability to continue to perform well and deliver on our commitments in 2021 and beyond, both to our patients and to our shareholders,” Pfizer chief financial officer Frank D’Amelio said in a statement Tuesday.
Pfizer has announced plans to study whether an additional booster shot of its vaccine could improve its effectiveness against the more contagious COVID-19 variants that have spread around the world. Fellow vaccine maker Moderna announced a similar effort last week.
Pfizer and BioNTech are “prepared to respond” if a coronavirus variant “demonstrates evidence of escaping immunity” provided by their vaccine, Pfizer said in a news release.
Pfizer shares were up about 0.5 percent in premarket trading at $35.15 as of 8:55 a.m. Wednesday.
With Post wires
