Pfizer raises 2021 COVID-19 vaccine sales forecast to $ 33.5 b

REUTERS: Pfizer Inc. on Wednesday raised its full-year sales forecast for the COVID-19 vaccine it developed with Germany's BioNTech by 29% to $ 33.5 billion, as nations stock up on doses for the rest of the year.

The company also said it could apply for an emergency use authorisation for a potential booster dose as early as August, reiterating that a third shot will likely be needed to enhance protection amid a resurgence in infections in many countries.

New early data showed that a third dose generated virus-neutralising antibodies more than five times higher in younger people and more than 11 times higher in older people than from two doses, Pfizer said.

The drugmaker, whose shot was authorised in the United States, Europe and other regions around the world in December of 2020, has won new orders as rivals such as AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson have faced manufacturing and safety hurdles.

Pfizer also competes with US mRNA vaccine maker Moderna Inc., which has not been able to scale up production as quickly as its much larger rival.

Pfizer and BioNTech plan next month to test a version of the vaccine specifically designed to take on the fast-spreading Delta variant, with the first batch already manufactured, Pfizer said. The more easily transmissible variant now accounts for more than 80% of new US COVID-19 cases and has also become dominant in many other countries.