Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla Talks Weight Loss Drugs

Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.

We were preparing for this period of loss of exclusivity.

Is twenty six twenty eight. We did significant acquisitions.

One of them is in obesity, as you said, but seeds them in oncology and nertech in Migraine, and this portfolio is performing extremely well. This year will be approximately ten billion dollars of sales growing double digit. Actually last year twenty five and twenty six will continue growing at a double digit. So I think after the twenty eight period of ELOWI is where we are not going to be a top line growth story. We will have exponential growth that will be leading the industry.

So twenty it sounds like things improve, especially when you think about the growth forecast there. But until that time, you think about what you recently said at the fireside chat earlier today, no plans for buybacks. You do have these patent expirations coming up, and you don't expect to put a GLP one on the market until twenty twenty eight. So how do you keep investors engaged and attract new investors during that period.

I think investors goes to see catalysts and this is a year, but it's very rich in catalysts. We are expecting redoubts of studies that they are significant. Two of them actually will be in obesity with Metterira portfolio. One it is the ultra long thirty days data, so the mastly dozing data that will come in the first half of this year. The other is the combination of zlp one and amelin that also will come this year. But

The vaccine against the teak.

Thank you, which is a very big disease that there is no vaccines so far, and that's the first one lime disease.

So there are very rich in catalysts.

And of course we start a lot of facetree studies, so investors I think are watching all of that, and right now, of Alisa has a very low multiple, I think we should start migrating towards the average multiple and then exceeded as we go post our relain.

So plenty of catalyst coming up. Let's talk specifically about met Sarah, because you want that hard fought getting more with novo nor Risks certainly fun for someone who can sent news to watch. When you think about the OBC market, though you know you mentioned that this would be once monthly. What do you see as the key differentiating factor when it comes to what met Sarah is developing.

I think one it is the monthly dosing.

That's a very clear differentiation that creates significant advantages not only in patient experience, but also in production and cost of goods and all of that. The second is the combination between a million and PDL one.

We are looking for superior.

Results than the current solos, So this combinations not only would be a monthly but hopefully can deliver better way loss place bodjusted and better tolerability, which are the two things that are the achillte heels of the ZLP.

Ones right now.

And of course there is an oral portfolio of peptides that is following. So it's a very complete, highly differentiated portfolio in the hands of a company. But it is very good in commercial activities, particularly when it comes to products that they are very much consumer driven. I remind you Viagra was a product that was behaving very similarly like like the ZLP one.

Well, looking forward to those read outs as we get deeper into twenty twenty six. I do want to talk about M and A overall and what the strategy going forward is, because last year you marked up to fifteen billion dollars PERTY to help replenish the pipeline. Where are you now? Do you feel pretty satisfied with the portfolio at hand? Are you still looking for more deals.

I'm very satisfied with the portfolio hand, and we invested almost ten of these fifteen billions, and then we have five to six that are remaining and we plan to invest them. We don't have to invest them, but we're trying to make sure that we will find the right assets, as we found with our oncology and obesity acquisitions.

And when it comes to cost cutting, you know, last month you said that you're going to reinvest about five hundred million dollars from savings from your cost cutting efforts into R and D, and I'm curious, you know, where do you see that investment going. Should we be focusing on the obesity portfolio or there are other areas, Advisor where you.

Plant it's let's start.

The on college portfolio right now absorbs approximately forty percent of our investments and that will.

Continue going up. But the newcomers are the.

Obesity that, as I said, start with more than fifteen studies, ten of them will be pivotal face thory studies. This is a significant investment but also demonstrates how confident we are in investing in these molecules.

And I do want to talk a little bit about the political landscape as well, because you were the first drug maker to strike a pricing deal with President Trump last year. And I know that this is pretty much an impossible question, but do you feel like you're out of the woods when it comes to surprising terror threats, price cuts, etc. What have your conversations with the White House indicated so far, As you.

Said, is a very difficult question, but because of the uncertainty that we know exist always, but we have created very solid agreements and we have created a political environment that there is good willingness.

From the White House to.

Respect and actually to help to help us with pricing outside the US. They are helping us a lot actually with pricing outside the US, with UK being the most visible example.

I think Secretary.

Latnik as if the lot there in UK, they made changes in their system that will invest way more in innovative medicines than before.

So I'm optimistic that it's behind us, and.

I am curious. I mean, you think about how long you've been at the Helm Advisor, when you compare and contrast just the frequency of communications that you're having with the Trump administration, how does that compare to past presidents at this point.

Look, I was very close with the Trump administration in the beginning. I was very close with the Biden administration because we had to work together with COVID's. With Trump, we work together to develop the vaccine. It was all his baby, right. The operation was speed, but with Biden was the period to scale it up to invest it.

I would say that we were.

Always very close to the Congress and to the White House.

I spent a lot of time in Washington myself a lot.

And given that you do spend so much time in Washington, and again, given that you were the first drugmaker to sign on to you know, these drug pricing deals, what takeaways you know would you give to other CEOs who are currently in conversation with the White House.

I think, engage, engage and discuss. I think I'm very proud of what we did. I think what we did opened the way for the entire industry. Probably already serventing companies now have to sign up.

And it is the same.

Model, like we open and put to bed an issue that was not sustainable, the big difference in pricing between US and other originations, and now that it is probably resolved in a gradual way because it's all the new products, so it's a good deal and the other should engage and and do it the same