Lipitor and Norvasc Drive 17% Revenue Growth for Upjohn China in Q2 2020 Despite Losing Bidding in National Volume-Based Procurement

Text | Baihuawen

On July 28, Pfizer released its financial results for the first half of 2020. Total revenue for the period amounted to $23.829 billion, representing a 10% year-over-year decline. Among this, the Biopharmaceuticals segment generated $19.802 billion in revenue, a 9% year-over-year increase, while the Upjohn business reported $4.027 billion in revenue, a 34% year-over-year decrease.

Biopharmaceutical business sales revenue in the second quarter was $9.795 billion, a 6% year-over-year increase, primarily driven by rare heart disease drugs Vyndaqel/Vyndamax, anticoagulant Eliquis, breast cancer drug Ibrance, renal cell carcinoma drug Inlyta, and prostate cancer drug Xtandi.

In the Chinese market, Pfizer’s China business began to be affected by the volume-based procurement policy in the second quarter of 2019. Its revenue growth rates for the second, third, and fourth quarters of 2019 were -20%, +3%, and -1%, respectively, resulting in a year-on-year increase of 17% for the full year 2019. In the first half of 2020, Pfizer’s overall revenue in China declined by 21%. However, in the second quarter of 2020 alone, revenue increased by 17% year on year, primarily driven by Lipitor and Norvasc. Although these two drugs were excluded from the volume-based procurement program, their sales performance remained strong.

In the development of COVID-19 vaccines, the mRNA vaccine BNT162, jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, has been granted Fast Track designation by the FDA and has initiated Phase II/III clinical trials, with a plan to enroll 30,000 participants aged 18 to 85 years. If the trial is successful, BNT162 is expected to receive Emergency Use Authorization in October 2020. Upon approval, Pfizer plans to supply 100 million doses by the end of 2020 and 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021.