Pfizer is also carrying out another $4 billion cost-cutting effort, which it announced last year as demand for its Covid vaccine and drug Paxlovid slumped. 

The pharmaceutical giant’s quarterly results also benefited from a smaller-than-feared drop in sales for its Covid antiviral pill Paxlovid.

Paxlovid can prevent hospitalization and death from COVID-19, but experts say it’s being underused. The pills’ high price and doctors’ hesitation to prescribe them are creating obstacles to getting the drug to everyone who would benefit.

Pfizer reversed roughly $3.5 billion in revenue related to the expected return of 6.5 million doses of its Covid drug, Paxlovid, from the U.S. government. 

The results come two weeks after Pfizer slashed its full-year adjusted earnings and revenue guidance and launched a sweeping $3.5 billion cost-cutting plan.

Paxlovid will transition to the private market in November as demand for Covid vaccines and treatments slumps nationwide.

Pfizer said it anticipates sales of its Covid treatment Paxlovid and its vaccine will be $9 billion less than it had expected.

Pfizer is in a transition period as it pivots away from its blockbuster Covid vaccine and drug Paxlovid while the world emerges from the pandemic.

There is no proven treatment for long Covid-19, which can cause a range of debilitating symptoms in millions of Americans.

Pfizer and the FDA view Paxlovid as an important complementary tool to vaccination that can help high-risk Americans manage their Covid infections.