Pfizer's chief financial officer (CFO) said he expects the company will continue to see record profit while calling the pandemic a "multi-billion dollar franchise." .With the release of Pfizer's third quarter earnings call November 1, CFO David Denton told investors the COVID-19 virus will be "somewhat like the flu ... but more deadly," adding the company's vaccine and antiviral medication will be "relevant for many years to come," according to reports from the UK's Daily Mail. .In an announcement released in October, Pfizer said it planned to triple the cost of each dose up to US$130 per shot next year. That's up from current costs estimated to be between US$19 to US$30 per dose..Some experts estimated one dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine costs approximately US$1.18 to make. The jump in price would represent a 10,000% markup. Speculation by some experts say Pfizer will bring in the price increase so the company can still reach its target of US$32 billion in vaccine revenue for 2022. ."I think if you look out longer term, the franchise is going to be a multi-billion dollar franchise in the respect that this is going to be somewhat like a flu, sustained flu, but actually more deadly than the flu," said Denton. ."I think the products, both from a vaccine and the therapy perspective that Pfizer developed, are going to be quite relevant for many years to come." .According to reports, Pfizer was charging the US government around $20 per dose. The company brought in US$81.2 billion for 2021 and forecast US$100 billion in revenue for 2022. Those government contracts — which made the shots free for all Americans — are set to expire, which will then transfer the burden of cost to health insurance companies in the US. .It's understood that Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla earned about US$50 million over the past two years and BioNTech founder Dr. Ugar Sahin is said to be worth US$4 billion. .‘With regard to our COVID-19 products, while their sales may fall from our expected 2022 levels of approximately combined $55 billion, we believe our COVID-19 franchises will remain multi-billion dollar revenue generators for the foreseeable future which should serve as a buffer for any unforeseen challenges with other products in our portfolio," Bourla told investors last Tuesday. .Outside revenue from its COVID-19 franchise, Pfizer is set to see more profit from the acquisition of Biohaven, a drug company with a migraine medication that brought in US$324 million in the first half of 2022. The company is also anticipating a profitable return from its vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), targeting seniors and pregnant women, once it's granted regulatory approval. ."So, there's the potential that, subject to regulatory approval, by late 2023, early 2024, we could have the only RSV maternal vaccine in the market, along with an RSV vaccine for older adults,’ said Bourla. ."Combined, the two indications represent a potential multi-billion dollar peak revenue opportunity if approved, especially with our highly respected primary care sales force executing these launches." .Some critics say the decision to raise the cost of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccines shows the firm's greed. .In June, the Western Standard dug into Canada's procurement of COVID-19 vaccines..READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: COVID vaccine contracts and wasted doses costing Canadian taxpayers billions.Between Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, the Canadian government committed to procuring up to 100 million doses for 2022 and up to 95 million for 2023 with advance purchase agreements. .Michèle LaRose, with Public Service and Procurement Canada (PSPC), told the Western Standard original agreements with vaccine suppliers "also required initial investments to support vaccine research, development and testing" and indicated that some of the procurement contracts are "firm" while others are "flexible" but did not provide any other details..PSPC, although asked, did not disclose how much each dose costs Canadian taxpayers. ."Transparency and accountability is critically important to the government, and we are committed to releasing a full account of our procurement efforts," said LaRose.."However, in order to respect confidentiality clauses in our vaccine agreements and to protect commercially sensitive information, we cannot disclose cost per dose." .Although it's unknown what the Canadian government has paid per dose for the various COVID-19 vaccines, unredacted documents obtained from the New Zealand government in early March revealed Pfizer was paid NZ$36.50 per dose, or C$31.
