Vaccine Sales Lift Pfizer’s Quarterly Results

Pfizer Inc. said it expects its Covid-19 vaccine to generate about $26 billion in sales this year, a major increase from several months ago that reflects the shot’s growing role in the global vaccination campaign.

The company also said Tuesday it is working on making the two-dose shot easier for vaccinators to administer and store. It has begun studying an updated version of the vaccine for the dangerous Covid-19 variant first identified in South Africa.

The Pfizer vaccine is the most-administered of the three Covid-19 vaccines cleared for use in the U.S. and increasingly is available around the world. Pfizer raised its vaccine sales forecast from $15 billion earlier this year as more countries sign supply agreements.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the way Pfizer has started 2021,” Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla said on a conference call with analysts.