Pfizer reported a bigger-than-expected 54 per cent decline in second-quarter revenue on Tuesday (Aug 1), as the US drugmaker faced declining demand for its Covid-19 products.

The company has said it expects 2023 to be a low point for Covid product sales following strong demand at the peak of the pandemic before a potential return to growth in 2024.

Pfizer is also preparing for declining revenues in coming years as some of its top-selling drugs are soon set to face competition from cheaper generic treatments.

The company has responded through billion-dollar acquisitions, headlined by the US$43 billion deal for cancer-therapy specialist Seagen, as well stepped up spending on research and development.

Pfizer also trimmed the upper end of its annual revenue forecast, and now expects sales between US$67 billion and US$70 billion, compared with US$67 billion to US$71 billion forecast earlier.

Quarterly sales of vaccine Comirnaty declined 83 per cent to US$1.49 billion, while antiviral treatment Paxlovid sales tumbled 98 per cent to US$143 million.

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Analysts had expected sales of US$1.40 billion for the vaccine and US$1.08 billion for Paxlovid.

Total revenue for the second quarter at US$12.73 billion missed analysts’ estimates of US$13.27 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

Excluding items, Pfizer reported a profit of 67 US cents per share, compared with analysts’ estimates of 57 US cents. REUTERS