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Pfizer Bets on New & Acquired Drugs to Offset Its LOE Pressure?
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Key Takeaways
Pfizer expects a $1.5B sales hit in 2026 from key drug patent expirations through 2030.
PFE's launched and acquired products generated $3.1B in Q1 sales, up 22% year over year.
Pfizer plans 20 pivotal studies in 2026, including obesity and oncology drug candidates.
Pfizer (PFE - Free Report) is facing one of the steepest patent cliffs in the large-cap pharma space. The company expects a significant negative impact on revenues from the loss of exclusivity (“LOE”) cliff in the 2026-2030 period as several of its key products, including blood thinner Eliquis (partnered with Bristol-Myers [(BMY - Free Report) ]), cancer drugs Ibrance and Xtandi (partnered with Astellas) and autoimmune medicine Xeljanz, face patent expirations.
Pfizer expects total revenues for 2026 to be between $59.5 billion and $62.5 billion. The range represents a decline from 2025 revenues of $62.6 billion due to lower revenues from COVID products, Comirnaty and Paxlovid, and loss of revenues from the upcoming patent cliff. The LOE cliff is expected to hurt sales by approximately $1.5 billion in 2026.
The company is banking on a mix of newly launched medicines, pipeline candidates and acquisitions to stabilize growth as revenues from older products decline.
As Pfizer’s COVID revenues are declining, its dependence on its COVID business has now reduced. Its non-COVID operational revenues are improving, driven by key in-line products like Vyndaqel, new launches and newly acquired products like migraine drug Nurtec ODT and cancer drugs, Adcetris, Padcev and Tukysa, added from the company’s $43 billion acquisition of Seagen. Revenues from Pfizer’s non-COVID products rose 7% operationally in the first quarter. Pfizer's recently launched and acquired products delivered revenues of $3.1 billion in the first quarter, rising 22% on a year-over-year basis. In 2026, Pfizer expects its recently launched and acquired products to record continued double-digit growth.
Meanwhile, Pfizer is rebuilding its pipeline in oncology and obesity, both through M&A deals as well as in-house pipeline progress, which it believes can drive growth in 2028 and beyond. In 2025, Pfizer invested around $9 billion in M&A deals, including the acquisition of Metsera and the licensing deal with 3SBio.
Pfizer is on track to start 20 pivotal studies in 2026, including 10 pivotal studies for the ultra-long-acting obesity candidates added from the Metsera acquisition and four for PF-08634404, a dual PD-1/VEGF inhibitor in-licensed from Chinese biotech 3SBio in 2025.
Pfizer expects its recently launched and acquired products and a strong pipeline to help revive top-line growth toward the end of the decade. Although Pfizer’s 2026 sales guidance indicates minimal growth, the company expects a high single-digit revenue CAGR for five years starting in 2029. Pfizer expects the growth to be driven by its advancing R&D pipeline and the continued progress of new and acquired products.
The company also expects its recent patent settlement agreements related to its key drug, Vyndamax, to significantly improve its post-2028 growth outlook and strengthen confidence in achieving its targeted high single-digit revenue CAGR after 2029.
Overall, Pfizer’s new launches, oncology expansion and acquired assets provide a credible pathway to mitigate its looming patent cliff. Still, execution will be critical, as the company must rapidly scale newer products and deliver pipeline successes to fully replace declining revenues from older blockbusters.
Competition in the Oncology Space
Pfizer is one of the largest drugmakers of cancer medicines. Other large players in the oncology space are AstraZeneca (AZN - Free Report) , Merck, J&J (JNJ - Free Report) and Bristol-Myers.
The Oncology segment comprises around 29% of J&J’s total revenues and 45% of its Innovative Medicine segment sales. Its oncology sales rose 17.8% on an operational basis in the first quarter of 2026, driven by strong market growth and share gains of key products such as Darzalex and prostate cancer drug, Erleada. The sales growth was partially dampened by lower sales of Imbruvica. J&J’s new cancer drugs, Carvykti, Tecvayli, Talvey and Rybrevant/Lazcluze are contributing significantly to top-line growth driven by market share gains.
For AstraZeneca, oncology sales now comprise around 45% of total revenues. Sales in its oncology segment rose 16% at constant exchange rate (CER) in the first quarter of 2026. AstraZeneca’s strong oncology performance was driven by medicines such as Tagrisso, Lynparza, Imfinzi, Calquence and Enhertu (in partnership with Daiichi Sankyo).
Merck’s key oncology medicines are PD-L1 inhibitor, Keytruda and PARP inhibitor, Lynparza, which it markets in partnership with AstraZeneca. Keytruda, approved for several types of cancer, alone accounts for around 50% of Merck’s pharmaceutical sales. Keytruda recorded sales of $8 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up 8% year over year.
PFE’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Pfizer stock has risen 3.8% so far this year compared with an increase of 2.3% for the industry.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, Pfizer appears attractive relative to the industry and is trading below its five-year mean. Going by the price/earnings ratio, Pfizer’s shares currently trade at 8.80 forward earnings, significantly lower than 17.43 for the industry as well as the stock’s five-year mean of 9.71.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings per share has risen from $2.98 to $2.99, while that for 2027 has risen from $2.82 to $2.86 over the past 30 days.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
Pfizer Bets on New & Acquired Drugs to Offset Its LOE Pressure?
Key Takeaways
Pfizer (PFE - Free Report) is facing one of the steepest patent cliffs in the large-cap pharma space. The company expects a significant negative impact on revenues from the loss of exclusivity (“LOE”) cliff in the 2026-2030 period as several of its key products, including blood thinner Eliquis (partnered with Bristol-Myers [(BMY - Free Report) ]), cancer drugs Ibrance and Xtandi (partnered with Astellas) and autoimmune medicine Xeljanz, face patent expirations.
Pfizer expects total revenues for 2026 to be between $59.5 billion and $62.5 billion. The range represents a decline from 2025 revenues of $62.6 billion due to lower revenues from COVID products, Comirnaty and Paxlovid, and loss of revenues from the upcoming patent cliff. The LOE cliff is expected to hurt sales by approximately $1.5 billion in 2026.
The company is banking on a mix of newly launched medicines, pipeline candidates and acquisitions to stabilize growth as revenues from older products decline.
As Pfizer’s COVID revenues are declining, its dependence on its COVID business has now reduced. Its non-COVID operational revenues are improving, driven by key in-line products like Vyndaqel, new launches and newly acquired products like migraine drug Nurtec ODT and cancer drugs, Adcetris, Padcev and Tukysa, added from the company’s $43 billion acquisition of Seagen. Revenues from Pfizer’s non-COVID products rose 7% operationally in the first quarter. Pfizer's recently launched and acquired products delivered revenues of $3.1 billion in the first quarter, rising 22% on a year-over-year basis. In 2026, Pfizer expects its recently launched and acquired products to record continued double-digit growth.
Meanwhile, Pfizer is rebuilding its pipeline in oncology and obesity, both through M&A deals as well as in-house pipeline progress, which it believes can drive growth in 2028 and beyond. In 2025, Pfizer invested around $9 billion in M&A deals, including the acquisition of Metsera and the licensing deal with 3SBio.
Pfizer is on track to start 20 pivotal studies in 2026, including 10 pivotal studies for the ultra-long-acting obesity candidates added from the Metsera acquisition and four for PF-08634404, a dual PD-1/VEGF inhibitor in-licensed from Chinese biotech 3SBio in 2025.
Pfizer expects its recently launched and acquired products and a strong pipeline to help revive top-line growth toward the end of the decade. Although Pfizer’s 2026 sales guidance indicates minimal growth, the company expects a high single-digit revenue CAGR for five years starting in 2029. Pfizer expects the growth to be driven by its advancing R&D pipeline and the continued progress of new and acquired products.
The company also expects its recent patent settlement agreements related to its key drug, Vyndamax, to significantly improve its post-2028 growth outlook and strengthen confidence in achieving its targeted high single-digit revenue CAGR after 2029.
Overall, Pfizer’s new launches, oncology expansion and acquired assets provide a credible pathway to mitigate its looming patent cliff. Still, execution will be critical, as the company must rapidly scale newer products and deliver pipeline successes to fully replace declining revenues from older blockbusters.
Competition in the Oncology Space
Pfizer is one of the largest drugmakers of cancer medicines. Other large players in the oncology space are AstraZeneca (AZN - Free Report) , Merck, J&J (JNJ - Free Report) and Bristol-Myers.
The Oncology segment comprises around 29% of J&J’s total revenues and 45% of its Innovative Medicine segment sales. Its oncology sales rose 17.8% on an operational basis in the first quarter of 2026, driven by strong market growth and share gains of key products such as Darzalex and prostate cancer drug, Erleada. The sales growth was partially dampened by lower sales of Imbruvica. J&J’s new cancer drugs, Carvykti, Tecvayli, Talvey and Rybrevant/Lazcluze are contributing significantly to top-line growth driven by market share gains.
For AstraZeneca, oncology sales now comprise around 45% of total revenues. Sales in its oncology segment rose 16% at constant exchange rate (CER) in the first quarter of 2026. AstraZeneca’s strong oncology performance was driven by medicines such as Tagrisso, Lynparza, Imfinzi, Calquence and Enhertu (in partnership with Daiichi Sankyo).
Merck’s key oncology medicines are PD-L1 inhibitor, Keytruda and PARP inhibitor, Lynparza, which it markets in partnership with AstraZeneca. Keytruda, approved for several types of cancer, alone accounts for around 50% of Merck’s pharmaceutical sales. Keytruda recorded sales of $8 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up 8% year over year.
PFE’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Pfizer stock has risen 3.8% so far this year compared with an increase of 2.3% for the industry.
From a valuation standpoint, Pfizer appears attractive relative to the industry and is trading below its five-year mean. Going by the price/earnings ratio, Pfizer’s shares currently trade at 8.80 forward earnings, significantly lower than 17.43 for the industry as well as the stock’s five-year mean of 9.71.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings per share has risen from $2.98 to $2.99, while that for 2027 has risen from $2.82 to $2.86 over the past 30 days.
Pfizer has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.