Pfizer's Late-Stage Pipeline Fuels Long-Term Growth Prospects

Pfizer PFE has strengthened its R&D pipeline through M&A deals and clinical trial success over the past decade.

Pfizer has particularly advanced its oncology pipeline with several candidates entering late-stage development. Key oncology candidates in late-stage development include vepdegestrant (a small-molecule PROTAC for ER+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer), atirmociclib (a CDK4 inhibitor for 1st line HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer) and sigvotatug vedotin (an antibody-drug-conjugate or ADC for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer).

Sasanlimab for the treatment of BCG-naive high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer is under review in the United States and the EU. The recent closing of Pfizer’s global ex-China in-licensing agreement with 3SBio grants it exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize SSGJ-707, a dual PD-1 and VEGF inhibitor. Dual PD-1/VEGF inhibitors are designed to overcome the limitations of single-target therapies like Merck’s MRK blockbuster PD-L1 inhibitor, Keytruda, and have the potential to replace standard-of-care medicines.

By 2030, Pfizer expects to have eight or more blockbuster oncology medicines in its portfolio.

In non-oncology areas, an mRNA flu/COVID combination vaccine and osivelotor for sickle cell disease are in late-stage development.

Pfizer is also working on expanding the labels of approved products like Padcev, Adcetris, Litfulo, Nurtec, Velsipity and Elrexfio, among others.

Year 2023 was a record year for Pfizer in terms of FDA approvals. It received nine new medicine/vaccine approvals in 2023. In 2024, it gained approval for a gene therapy for hemophilia, Hympavzi (marstacimab). All these new products have begun to contribute to top-line growth.

Despite record new drug approvals in the past couple of years, Pfizer still boasts a robust R&D pipeline with a significant number of late-stage products, with some having the potential to be blockbuster drugs. While Pfizer’s new drugs and newly acquired products from Seagen and other acquisitions hold the key to its growth in the 2025-2030 period, its pipeline candidates have the potential to drive long-term growth.

Pfizer has, however, faced its share of pipeline setbacks. Among the more recent setbacks, in April, Pfizer discontinued the development of its GLP-1R agonist, danuglipron, which was developed as a weight loss pill. In July 2025, Pfizer discontinued the development of a vaccine to prevent primary C. difficile infection. However, Pfizer continues to develop a second-generation vaccine for C. difficile infection in phase II.

Competition in the Oncology Space

Other large players in the oncology space are AstraZeneca AZN, Merck, J&J and Bristol-Myers BMY.

For AstraZeneca, oncology sales now comprise around 43% of total revenues. Sales in its oncology segment rose 16% in the first half of 2025. 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 Keytruda and PARP inhibitor Lynparza, which it markets in partnership with AstraZeneca. Keytruda, approved for several types of cancer, accounts for around 50% of Merck’s pharmaceutical sales. Keytruda’s sales rose 6.6% to $15.1 billion in the first half of 2025.

Bristol-Myers’ key cancer drug is PD-L1 inhibitor, Opdivo, which accounts for around 20% of its total revenues. Opdivo’s sales rose 9% to $4.82 billion in the first half of 2025.

J&J’s oncology sales now comprise around 40% of its pharmaceutical revenues, up 21.1% in the first half of 2025. While its older cancer drugs, Darzalex and Erleada, are key contributors to its top-line growth, new drugs like Carvykti, Tecvayli and Talvey hold the key for long-term growth.

PFE’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

Pfizer’s stock has declined 1.2% so far this year against an increase of 1.5% for the industry. 

From a valuation standpoint, Pfizer appears attractive relative to the industry and is trading below its 5-year mean. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 8.01 forward earnings, lower than 14.75 for the industry and the stock’s 5-year mean of 10.71.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings has risen from $3.05 per share to $3.13 per share, while that for 2026 has been stable at $3.09 per share over the past 60 days.

Pfizer has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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