The logo of pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline is seen at its facility in Stevenage, Britain, October 26, 2020.
Ruvic Dice | Reuters
GlaxoSmithKline It raised its long-term outlook on Wednesday following the successful rollout of its new RSV vaccine.
The vaccine against the serious and, in some cases, life-threatening virus. recorded around £1.2 billion, or $1.5 billion, in sales after only being on the market for about half a year.
In November, GSK had forecast sales of the Arexvy vaccine in 2023 would be between £900m and £1bn, following its strong rollout in the US.
The launch of the first vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus from GSK and Pfizer Last year turned out to be a boon for both companies, although Pfizer saw fewer sales of its vaccine than its competitor.
GSK said it now expects to generate more than £38 billion in sales by 2031, up from a previous forecast of £33 billion. In 2023, the British pharmaceutical company raised £30.3 billion.
GSK now anticipates sales will increase more than 7% on a compound annual growth rate between 2021 and 2026, with adjusted operating profit increasing more than 11% over that span. In 2021, it had forecast growth rates of more than 5% for revenue and more than 10% for profit.
The company's rising RSV partly drove the higher forecast. The vaccine is approved for use in adults 60 and older, but could eventually get the green light for people ages 50 to 59, CEO Emma Walmsley said in a media call.
An expanded approval of the vaccine could serve another 15 million vulnerable patients, he noted.
“We are very excited about the prospects for this vaccine as part of our high-value adult vaccination portfolio that will continue to support these improved long-term prospects,” Walmsley said.
He added that GSK is planning at least 12 major product launches, most of which will occur in the next four years.
Arexvy became the world's first RSV vaccine to gain approval from a regulatory body in May following the green light from the US Food and Drug Administration. The vaccine subsequently gained approvals in the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan and several other countries.
With $1.5 billion in sales last year, Arexvy is now a “blockbuster” vaccine, which is when a product generates annual sales of at least $1 billion.
The vaccine has about 70% market share for RSV, Walmsley added Wednesday. That's a big advantage over GSK's main rival in the market, Pfizer, which has an RSV vaccine approved for adults 60 and older and for pregnant women who can pass protection on to their children.
Pfizer's vaccine, known as Abrysvo, generated about $890 million in sales last year after its launch, the company announced Tuesday.
Pfizer aims to increase its share of the RSV market by establishing vaccination as a “year-round discussion” and expanding the company's hiring and retail offerings, CEO Albert Bourla said during an earnings call Tuesday. . The company is also examining the vaccine in people between 18 and 59 years old.
Bourla said during a conference earlier this month that the shot was “badly released.”
Meanwhile, the biotech company modern hopes to launch its own RSV vaccine this year.
RSV usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. But each year the virus kills between 6,000 and 10,000 older people and a few hundred children under age five in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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