Developers of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics highlight continued need for treatments

As the COVID-19 pandemic shifts into a new phase, top executives at companies that have developed vaccines and therapeutics for the novel disease have highlighted the continued need for treatments.

This includes Pfizer’s chief executive officer (CEO) Albert Bourla, who has said that patients are “likely” to require a third dose of its BioNTech-partnered COVID-19 vaccine to ensure longer-term protection.

Bourla added that, following this, people will also be likely to need re-vaccination each year against COVID-19.

In a recent earnings call discussing Pfizer’s first quarter results, Bourla reiterated this stance, saying that “basically all governments of the world are now discussing procurement agreements for 2022, 2023 and 2024 [with us]”.

In its first quarter results, Pfizer reported that the vaccine had already generated $3.5bn in global revenues. The company is expecting revenue from its COVID-19 vaccine to reach approximately $26bn for 2021 alone.

If Bourla is correct, it is safe to assume that Pfizer will continue to see significant growth for its COVID-19 vaccine over the next five years, at least.

In addition to Bourla, Regeneron’s CEO Leonard Schleifer also said he expects an “ongoing global need” for COVID-19 therapeutics, such as the company’s monoclonal antibody treatment REGEN-COV.

“Thinking longer term for REGEN-COV, we see an ongoing global need for treatment and climate prevention of COVID disease despite high rates of vaccination, it’s estimated that tens of millions will remain unvaccinated in the US alone and that, of those who are vaccinated, significant numbers will not mount a protective response, such as those who are immunocompromised or immunosuppressed,” said Schleifer.

In Q1, Regeneron recorded US net sales of $262m for REGEN-COV under its first contract with the US government.

In the US, the antibody cocktail is approved for emergency use to treat COVID-19 patients based on age and increased risk factors, although Regeneron is also preparing for a potential update for this authorisation to include prevention.