AbbVie and Pfizer are manufacturers of two of the best-selling pharmaceutical products in the world.
Humira, AbbVie's immunology drug, reached peak sales of over $21 billion, while Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine generated peak sales of $37 billion in 2022 in both cases.
Despite these results, AbbVie and Pfizer shares have fallen double-digit percentages this year due to declining sales of their flagship products.
In AbbVie's case, Humira sales have declined 36% year-over-year in the latest quarter to $3.5 billion, as the drug has lost exclusivity. However, AbbVie has laid the groundwork with two new immunology drugs, Rinvoq and Skyrizi, which are on track to exceed Humira's peak sales by 2027.
Although it will take time to offset the decline in Humira sales, the strong results of Rinvoq and Skyrizi so far support the decision not to sell AbbVie shares at this time.
In Pfizer's case, demand for the coronavirus vaccine, Comirnaty, is declining as the world moves out of the crisis stage of the pandemic.
Despite a downward revision of $2 billion in the annual revenue guidance for Comirnaty, the vaccine is expected to continue generating significant revenue in fall vaccination seasons.
Pfizer is also in the midst of an active period of new product launches, aiming to reach $84 billion in revenue by 2030. Although it would not reach last year's $100 billion, it represents a 60% increase from pre-COVID revenue levels.
Both AbbVie and Pfizer have charted new paths toward growth, making both companies more attractive as investments rather than sales at this time.
With information from: Nasdaq.
Receive all industry news in our weekly Newsletter Scientific Dialectics.