Farmacéuticas y COVID

The profits Big Pharma is making from COVID-19 vaccines will be revealed this week as both Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) report Q3 earnings. Analysts are expecting the two companies (Pfizer today, Moderna tomorrow) to disclose a collective $18B in vaccine sales, a figure which is comparable to their last two quarters - combined. Last week, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) said it saw more than $500M in Q3 vaccine sales, nearly double the $264M it made in the first half.

Bigger picture: COVID-19 vaccine revenues are more important financially to Moderna, since the jab is its only commercially approved product. However, shares of the company slid yesterday after the company chose to delay the filing of its Emergency Use Authorization request for use in the 6-11-year age group. It made the decision upon hearing that the FDA would need additional time to evaluate the data in adolescents aged 12 to 17, meaning a review for that age category is unlikely to be complete before Jan. 2022 (Pfizer's vaccine was FDA-approved for kids last week).

Investors will also be on the lookout for comments on vaccine sales for Q4 and 2022, as well as production expectations for younger patients and coverage for more of the globe. Other COVID drugs are also bringing in billions, like Gilead Sciences' (NASDAQ:GILD) Veklury antiviral treatment, which is administered to hospitalized patients (had sales of $1.9B in Q3). Merck (NYSE:MRK) also predicts its COVID-19 pill, called molnupiravir, could bring in up to $7B in sales next year if granted regulatory authorization.

Rosy outlook? "Starting the week of Nov. 8, the kids vaccination program will be fully up and running," White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said in a statement. The CDC is scheduled to meet today to assess approval for Pfizer-BioNTech's (PFE, BNTX) vaccine for 5- to 11-year-olds, while the Biden administration has already begun transferring 15M doses to facilitate immunizations at pediatricians' offices, pharmacies, hospitals and health centers. However, unlike a pledge from Johnson & Johnson, both Pfizer and Moderna have chosen to profit from COVID-19 vaccine sales (check out YTD performance of the three stocks).