(Reuters) -Pfizer on Friday slashed its full-year revenue forecast by around 13% and launched a $3.5 billion cost cutting program due to lower-than-expected sales of its COVID-19 vaccine and treatment.
The drugmaker said it now expects 2023 revenue of between $58 billion and $61 billion, down from it prior forecast of $67 billion to $70 billion. It said the reduction was solely due to lowered expectations for its COVID-19 products.
The cost cutting, targeting savings of at least $3.5 billion by the end of 2024, will include layoffs, the company said, without providing details on how many jobs will be cut or from what areas.
Shares of the New York-based company were down about 7% in extended trading.
Pfizer slashed its forecast for sales of its antiviral COVID treatment Paxlovid by about $7 billion, including a non-cash $4.2 billion revenue reversal, as it agreed to allow the return of 7.9 million doses purchased by the U.S. government. It had previously expected Paxlovid revenue of about $8 billion for the year.
The company also cut full-year revenue expectations for the COVID vaccine it shares with German partner BioNTech by about $2 billion due to lower-than-expected vaccination rates.
(Reporting by Michael Erman in New Jersey and Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
