Pfizer Says Major Headwinds Are Easing as Pipeline, Obesity Plans Take Center Stage

Key Points

• Pfizer says major headwinds are easing: The company has addressed tariff and most-favored-nation pricing concerns, cut $7.2 billion from its cost base, and continued exceeding revenue and earnings expectations despite sharply lower COVID-19 demand.
• Growth is shifting toward new products and selective deals: New and business-development products generate about $13 billion annually, while Pfizer plans to focus future acquisitions on earlier-stage assets, particularly in China, after spending nearly $80 billion on deals over the past three years.
• Pipeline catalysts center on oncology and obesity: Pfizer expects late-stage results for prostate-cancer drug mevrometostat by year-end and is advancing a broad obesity portfolio from Metsera, including weekly and monthly GLP-1 treatments, an amylin combination, and an oral GLP-1 candidate.

Pfizer NYSE: PFE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said the drugmaker has addressed several major headwinds that weighed on investor attention, including policy uncertainty, declining COVID-19-related demand and upcoming losses of exclusivity for certain products.

Speaking at a Morgan Stanley conference, Bourla said Pfizer had reached agreements related to tariffs and most-favored-nation pricing policies, while the company’s financial results have remained resilient despite what he described as the smallest COVID season Pfizer could have anticipated. He said Pfizer outperformed revenue expectations in nine of its last 10 earnings reports and exceeded earnings-per-share expectations in all 10, spanning 2024, 2025 and the first two earnings reports of 2026.

Bourla also pointed to cost reductions and new-product growth as important components of Pfizer’s strategy for navigating losses of exclusivity. The company has removed $7.2 billion from its cost base over three years, he said, and recently announced another cost initiative intended to help offset future patent expirations.

New products and products obtained through business development are running at an annualized rate of about $13 billion and growing in the “20s percent,” according to Bourla. He said investor discussions have increasingly shifted away from COVID-19, pricing policy and losses of exclusivity toward Pfizer’s pipeline and expected clinical catalysts in 2027.

Policy outlook and 340B program

Bourla said he does not expect substantial U.S. policy changes ahead of the midterm elections and anticipates that only measures with bipartisan support may advance afterward, particularly if the government is divided.

He identified pharmacy benefit manager reform as an area with bipartisan backing, saying several regulatory and legislative steps have already been taken. He also described the 340B drug-pricing program as a major issue for the industry, though he was less optimistic about a broader resolution because of the political sensitivities involving hospitals.

Pfizer saw both favorable and unfavorable effects from 340B-related developments, Bourla said, with the net impact only marginally positive. He cautioned against assuming the industry will receive a substantial ongoing benefit.

The Department of Health and Human Services is scheduled to begin a 340B pilot in January 2027 that includes Pfizer’s ELIQUIS and IBRANCE products. Bourla said the program could provide insight into both the near-term business impact and longer-term consequences of the policy.

Business development shifts toward selective deals

Pfizer expects to be more selective with future business development as it focuses on extracting value from recent investments, Bourla said. The company has spent close to $80 billion on business development during the past three years, with roughly 80% concentrated in three major transactions.

• Seagen, which Bourla said is performing ahead of Pfizer’s expectations and provides a broader oncology platform rather than a single product.
• Biohaven, including NURTEC ODT, which he said has contributed significantly to growth.
• Metsera, which expanded Pfizer’s obesity-drug portfolio.

Going forward, Bourla said Pfizer expects to pursue opportunities more strategically, with particular interest in earlier-stage assets in China, including peri-IND, Phase I and Phase II programs.

He described China as a growing source of innovation, citing faster development timelines and lower costs. However, Bourla said Pfizer conducts especially extensive due diligence on Chinese opportunities, including on-the-ground reviews of patient records and clinical-study sites. He also cited policy risks from both the U.S. and China that could affect cross-border licensing arrangements.

Bourla said he would be surprised if global Chinese pharmaceutical companies do not emerge by the end of the decade. He said Pfizer is preparing for a more competitive environment through productivity improvements, including broader deployment of artificial intelligence.

AI, oncology and obesity pipeline plans

Beyond research and development, Bourla said Pfizer sees opportunities for AI in marketing, field-force support and manufacturing. He said physicians increasingly obtain information through large language models, creating a need for companies to ensure scientific data are included in those systems. Pfizer also sees AI as a means to broaden sales representatives’ product knowledge and improve manufacturing costs, reliability and speed.

In oncology, Bourla said Pfizer is “reasonably optimistic” about upcoming Phase III results for mevrometostat in metastatic prostate cancer. The company has two late-stage trials underway and expects results before the end of the year, although he emphasized that the studies are event-driven.

The readout has been delayed because fewer events have occurred than anticipated, Bourla said. He noted that the randomized earlier-stage data showed a 50% improvement, while a 30% improvement in the Phase III setting would still be meaningful and statistically significant. Pfizer owns global rights to mevrometostat, unlike XTANDI, where it shared economics in certain markets.

In obesity, Bourla said the Metsera acquisition provides Pfizer with a portfolio that includes weekly and monthly GLP-1 candidates. Pfizer is conducting 20 obesity studies this year, including 10 Phase III studies, covering weekly programs in diabetes and non-diabetes as well as a monthly program.

The company is also studying whether patients using other GLP-1 medicines can transition to monthly maintenance therapy after reaching a weight-loss plateau. Pfizer has begun a Phase II study of a monthly amylin-plus-GLP-1 combination, expected to report results next year, while Phase I data are anticipated toward the end of the current year.

Bourla said Pfizer has modified Phase III titration protocols to improve gastrointestinal tolerability for monthly treatments, including more gradual dose escalation and the ability for patients to step down to a lower dose if tolerability issues arise. He said Pfizer is also advancing a licensed oral GLP-1 candidate that uses a smaller dose than some competing oral approaches and may be more suitable for combination pills.

About Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)

Pfizer Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and vaccines. Its portfolio addresses a range of therapeutic areas, including oncology, inflammation and immunology, internal medicine, hospital care, rare diseases and infectious diseases. The company serves patients and healthcare providers in markets worldwide.

Pfizer's products include the Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine, the Prevnar family of pneumococcal vaccines, and medicines such as Eliquis, Ibrance, Vyndaqel and Zavzaret.

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