NEW YORK – In the second quarter of 2024, Pfizer saw continued revenue gains within its oncology unit, helped by sales of products it gained with the acquisition of Seagen last year.
On Tuesday, Pfizer reported that revenue from its oncology products increased 26 percent in Q2 2024 to $3.96 billion, compared to $3.15 billion in Q2 2023. Legacy Seagen products recorded $845 million in sales, which during a call to discuss Q2 financial results, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla characterized as "contributing meaningfully to our revenues."
Seagen's legacy products include several antibody-drug conjugates, like the nectin-4-directed Padcev (enfortumab vedotin), the CD30-targeted Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin), the tissue factor-directed Tivdak (tisotumab vedotin), and the HER2 inhibitor Tukysa (tucatinib).
"Last year, we acted on our bold vision of combining Seagen's transformative ADC medicines with Pfizer's expertise, innovation, and scale," Bourla continued. "We believe we could help people with cancer live better and longer lives and capture a differentiated opportunity to drive long-term sustainable growth for our company."
With half the year done, Bourla said Pfizer was on track to achieve these goals and integrate Seagen within its operations.
For the three months ended June 30, Pfizer reported total revenues of $13.28 billion, a 2 percent increase from $13.01 billion in the year-ago period. The company beat the Wall Street consensus revenue estimate of $12.96 billion for the quarter.
The firm's top-selling precision oncology drug, the CDK4/6 inhibitor Ibrance (palbociclib), which the firm markets for hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, recorded worldwide sales of $1.13 billion in Q2 compared to $1.25 billion in the same period last year, a 9 percent drop. Pfizer executives attributed the revenue decline to lower demand for Ibrance due to competitive pressure globally and price decreases in certain international developed markets.
Sales of Lorbrena (lorlatinib), Pfizer's treatment for ALK-rearranged metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, jumped 39 percent in Q2 2024 to $169 million from $121 million in Q2 2023. Bourla noted that the five-year survival data for Lorbrena the firm presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting in June, "strengthens our brand's position as an emerging standard of care in the front-line setting."
Pfizer's BRAF and MEK inhibitor combination, Braftovi (encorafenib) and Mektovi (binimetinib), together brought in $148 million in Q2 2024, a 32 percent increase from $113 million in Q2 2023. The firm sells Braftovi and Mektovi for treating colorectal cancer and melanoma characterized by BRAF V600E mutations.
Sales of Tukysa, a legacy Seagen product for the treatment of HER2-positive breast and colorectal cancers, were $121 million in the second quarter. Pfizer did not report Q2 2023 revenues for Tukysa because it had not yet acquired the drug.
The PARP inhibitor Talzenna (talazoparib), a treatment for germline BRCA-mutant, HER2-negative breast cancer, and homologous recombination repair gene-mutated metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, brought in $32 million in Q2 2024, more than double the $12 million the drug recorded over the same period last year. Talzenna was approved in combination with Xtandi (enzalutamide) in the US for the prostate cancer indication in June 2023.
In the latter half of this year, Pfizer is expecting to begin Phase III trials for four oncology assets, including the PARP inhibitor atirmociclib, which is currently being studied in a Phase I/II trial in hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer and in solid tumors with CDK4 or CCND1 amplification.
In announcing Q2 financials, Pfizer said it is launching a manufacturing optimization program to reduce costs by achieving operational efficiencies, changing network structures, and enhancing its product portfolio. The first phase of this program, aimed at achieving operational efficiencies, is expected to save the company $1.5 billion by the end of 2027. One-time costs associated with the program are expected to total about $1.7 billion and will be recorded primarily in 2024, according to Pfizer.
In Q2, Pfizer recorded $1.3 billion on a one-time restructuring charge related to the cost reduction program, which primarily went to severance payments. The company also paid a $230 million charge for in-process R&D asset impairment and other related costs associated with the discontinuation of its Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) program. In June, Pfizer reported that the Phase III trial for its gene therapy, fordadistrogene movaparvovec, failed to meet its primary endpoint. Amid the discontinuation of this program and the cost-cutting measures, this week, Pfizer also laid off 210 employees at two North Carolina manufacturing facilities.
Pfizer CFO David Denton further noted that the firm expects to deliver at least $4 billion of net savings from a previously announced cost realignment program by the end of this year. "This improvement in our cost base alongside our new initiatives focused on manufacturing is expected to put us on strong footing towards margin expansion and improve financial returns," Denton said.
The costs associated with these restructuring programs impacted the firm's net income. In Q2 2024, Pfizer's net income was $41 million, or $.01 per share, compared to $2.33 billion in Q2 2023, or $.41 per share. The firm's adjusted EPS, excluding the $1.3 billion restructuring cost, was $.60 in the second quarter compared to $.67 in the same period last year. On average, analysts were expecting an EPS of $.46 in Q2 2024.
Pfizer also updated its 2024 financial guidance. The firm now expects overall revenue to be between $59.5 billion and $62.5 billion this year and adjusted EPS in the range of $2.45 and $2.65. It previously expected overall revenue between $58.5 billion and $61.5 billion and diluted EPS in the range of $2.15 and $2.35.