Second-quarter revenues were better than analysts expected as Merck reported 16% growth for its blockbuster cancer treatment Keytruda, while Pfizer benefited from its ongoing cost-cutting efforts and sales of its COVID-19 antiviral Paxlovid.
Merck and Pfizer announced second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, with both companies beating the Wall Street consensus, which was driven by sales of their blockbuster drugs Keytruda and the Vyndaqel family of treatments, respectively.
An analyst report from the Bank of Montreal Capital Markets called it a “solid quarter” for Pfizer. Total revenue for Q2 was $13.2 billion, a 2% increase from the same period last year, beating the consensus of $12.96 billion. Pfizer has raised its year-end guidance range from $59.5 billion to $62.5 billion. Previously, Pfizer’s guidance was between $58.5 billion and $61.5 billion.
Merck’s global sales were $16.1 billion, beating Guggenheim Securities’ estimate of $15.7 billion and the FactSet consensus of $15.8 billion. It has also raised its guidance and now expects its worldwide sales to be between $63.4 billion and $64.4 billion.
Pfizer has been hit with revenue drops over the past few quarters, but Q2 saw strong sales of the cardiomyopathy drugs Vyndaqel, Vyndamax, and Vynmac. Sales of these drugs reached over $1.3 billion, a 71% increase from the same quarter last year, driven by market demand in the U.S. and internationally.
Sales of products acquired from Seagen reached $845 million globally in Q2. By comparison, the blood clot prevention drug Eliquis brought in $1.8 billion, an 8% increase from the same quarter last year due to high demand in the U.S. and internationally.
Even sales of some COVID-19 products were positive for Pfizer in Q2. The antiviral treatment Paxlovid brought in $251 million, a 79% increase from the prior year period.
An analyst report from BMO Capital Markets found that Pfizer’s cost-cutting initiative has “continued to progress.” The company is on track to bring in at least $4 billion in net cost savings by the end of the year. As part of that effort, Pfizer has continued its series of layoffs, axing over 200 positions from two locations in North Carolina.
“We are driving progress toward our 2024 strategic priorities through solid execution across the company. I am pleased with the strong performance of our product portfolio in the second quarter, led by several of our acquired products, key in-line brands, and recent commercial launches,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Merck’s positive momentum has continued. Its cancer drug Keytruda brought in $7.2 billion in sales in Q2, a 16% increase from the same period last year. The pharma said that Keytruda’s growth was due to an uptake in use in earlier-stage indications such as triple-negative breast cancer, renal cell carcinoma and non-small cell lung cancer in the U.S.
The HPV vaccine Gardasil also reached blockbuster status in Q2, netting over $2.4 billion in sales, a 1% increase from last year. An analyst report from Guggenheim found that Merck has benefited from strong Gardasil demand in China over the previous few years but has experienced a “significant decrease in vaccination demand” compared to prior quarters, but still believes that China is an “attractive commercial opportunity.”
“Our business is demonstrating strong momentum as we exit the first half of the year,” Merck CEO Robert Davis said in a statement.
Johnson & Johnson and Novartis kicked off the parade of Q2 financial results earlier this month, and last week AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Roche and Sanofi joined the litany of positive announcements as well as Bristol Myers Squibb.
