Sales of GSK’s top-selling vaccine fell sharply in the third quarter as demand slumped, sending the British drugmaker’s shares down 3% in U.S. trading on Wednesday.
GSK lowered its vaccine sales forecast in July, but revised it downward again in its third-quarter earnings report on Wednesday. The company now expects vaccine sales to be down low single digits compared to last year.
During the third quarter, sales of GSK’s shingles vaccine were down 7% compared to the same period in 2023, and sales of its respiratory syncytial virus vaccine Alexby were down 72% compared to the same period last year.
GSK said in its presentation that the decline in Alexbee’s is due to several factors, including narrower recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prioritization of COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States, and lower RSV infection rates this season. He said it was due to.
The decline reflects a decline in Pfizer’s competing vaccine Abrisvo, which saw sales decline in the quarter compared to the same period last year. Pfizer also cited CDC recommendations that focus on vaccinating adults 75 and older and people 60 to 74 who are at high risk for the disease. The CDC previously urged all adults age 60 and older, for whom both Alexby and Abrisvo are approved, to discuss vaccination with their doctors.
However, GSK also noted that Aleksby hit the market in large quantities during Schott’s first RSV season in the third quarter of last year. Although Arexvy and Abrysvo were approved by the FDA within weeks of each other last May, Arexvy was able to gain a significant market share advantage.
However, competition appears to be intensifying. Pfizer announced Tuesday that its vaccine’s market share has increased, noting its availability as a maternal vaccination and, more recently, to certain high-risk adults 18 and older.
In a conference call Wednesday, GSK commercial chief Luke Miels said Alexby maintains “strong leadership market share.”
“We are still on the cusp of availability and use of this vaccine,” Miels said. “In the United States, we continue to provide data to (CDC’s advisory committee) ACIP and support it in making long-term recommendations for the use of RSV vaccines.”
Both Pfizer and GSK believe that revaccination will be necessary at some point to maintain adequate protection for older adults.
Mr Miels added that GSK expects Arexvy’s annual peak sales could eventually exceed £3bn.
Arexvy’s revenue for the quarter was 188 million pounds (approximately $244 million), compared with 709 million pounds a year earlier. Shingrix shingle shot sales fell to 739 million pounds (approximately $959 million) from 825 million pounds last year.
