Vaccines
Offsetting Merck’s growth in the third quarter were disappointing revenues from its HPV vaccine Gardasil and type 2 diabetes pill Januvia, with the company on Thursday narrowing its 2024 sales and adjusted profit outlooks.
The French drugmaker’s newly launched respiratory syncytial virus antibody Beyfortus far exceeded analyst expectations, bringing in almost $700 million in the third quarter. Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger in a Friday note to investors said Sanofi expects Q4 Beyfortus sales similar to Q3.
The CDC’s vaccine advisors on Thursday maintained that respiratory syncytial virus immunization is only recommended for adults aged 75 and older, and in seniors 60 to 74 years who are at risk of severe disease.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday backed the use of Merck’s Capvaxive and Pfizer’s Prevnar 20 in adults between 50-64 years of age, opening a bigger market for the respective companies.
Pfizer’s Abrysvo is the first respiratory syncytial virus vaccine that can be used for adults less than 50 years of age. Tuesday’s label expansion covers younger adults who are deemed at higher risk of RSV-related lower respiratory tract disease.
This week marked the start of the third-quarter earnings season, with Johnson & Johnson exceeding Wall Street’s expectations. Pfizer is projected to have a strong quarter, while Eli Lilly could pull ahead of Novo Nordisk in the obesity space. Moderna, by contrast, has a decidedly negative outlook.
Merck’s investigational antibody clesrovimab demonstrated more than 60% effectiveness in reducing some types of respiratory syncytial virus-associated infections in infants, while Pfizer’s RSV vaccine Abrysvo showed 90% effectiveness at preventing the most severe RSV cases in adults 60 years and older.
The mpox vaccine induced an antibody response in adolescents aged 12 to 17 years that matched that in adults, suggesting the shot can be used to protect the highly susceptible group.
The lawsuits claim that Moderna used and profited from crucial mRNA technology in its COVID-19 vaccine Spikevax and respiratory syncytial virus shot mResvia.
Vaccine biotech Gritstone bio is filing for bankruptcy while securing a stalking horse bid from an unnamed party, which the company hopes will save its clinical research in cancer and infectious disease.
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