By 2030, Pfizer expects about two-thirds of its oncology revenue will be coming from new molecular entities and new indications from existing products. In what CEO Albert Bourla, Ph.D., called an update to a top priority at Pfizer, the company on Thursday systemically laid out its new oncology strategy following the $43 billion acquisition of antibody-drug conjugate specialist Seagen. The company aims to have at least eight blockbuster cancer drugs by 2030, Pfizer’s newly minted chief oncology officer, Chris Boshoff, Ph.D., said during an investor event Thursday as he unveiled the strategic priorities. By then, Pfizer hopes to double the number of patients treated with its innovative cancer medicines from about 2.3 million in 2023. “Within these areas, we’re initiating parallel earlier-line trials where the addressable population is the greatest, aiming to both accelerate a new wave of breakthroughs and move approved medicines into earlier lines of treatment,” Boshoff said.
Pfizer bought Seagen and devised a new oncology blueprint as top-selling cancer drug Ibrance declines, and as its collaboration revenue from Astellas-partnered Xtandi runs flat. Both drugs are expected to lose market exclusivity in 2027. And the addition of Seagen brings Pfizer to what Boshoff called an inflection point in its position in the oncology field. Pfizer on Thursday stopped short of providing a specific sales projection for the oncology franchise by 2030. The company anticipates “continued strong sales and profit growth in oncology through the end of this decade,” oncology commercial chief Suneet Varma said. By then, about two-thirds of the risk-adjusted oncology revenue will be coming from new molecular entities and new indications from existing products, he added. Before the Seagen deal, Pfizer’s top three cancer drugs—Ibrance, Xtandi and Inlyta—were all small molecules. Now, the New York pharma aims to increase the proportion of biologics in its revenue mix from 6% to 65% by 2030. Touting Pfizer’s ability to boost the former Seagen portfolio, Boshoff pointed to Pfizer’s 10 manufacturing sites that are churning out oncology drugs on three continents, versus one for Seagen, plus six times the capacity for vial volume for antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) production than Seagen alone. Pfizer has commercial presence in over 100 countries, and the combined customer-facing commercial team is triple the size of Seagen’s own, he noted. Despite growth potential from the new drugs, the Ibrance patent cliff will be so steep that Pfizer expects breast cancer’s contribution to total oncology sales will drop to about 10% by 2030 from about 40% in 2023, Varma told investors during Thursday’s event. Pfizer recently started a push into blood cancers with the FDA’s approval for Elrexfio, a BCMA-targeted bispecific drug. Again, multiple phase 3 trials are ongoing for the multiple myeloma therapy, including two trials in newly diagnosed patients either as a post-transplant maintenance treatment or for transplant-ineligible patients. Plus, Seagen comes with Adcetris, an established blockbuster for classical Hodgkin lymphoma. In 2023, Pfizer’s oncology sales dropped 3% at constant exchange rates to $11.6 billion, despite a small contribution from the Seagen products in the last few days of 2023. Declines from Ibrance and Xtandi collaboration revenue drove the overall decrease.