Pfizer's Oncology Chief Chris Boshoff has warned that the drug price reforms introduced by the Biden administration could jeopardize the development of cancer therapies for children and rare diseases. Under the Inflation Reduction Act, the US government announced savings of $7.5 billion on the first ten drugs eligible for price negotiations with Medicare, the federal health program for those over 65.

According to Boshoff, price negotiations for cancer drugs could reduce incentives to research rare or pediatric cancers. "If profitability for small indications is in the single digits, there is less incentive to start large and complex programs, especially as the IRA deadline approaches," Boshoff explained.

Despite this, Pfizer has not yet postponed any projects due to the price reforms.

Pfizer's focus on oncology, especially after the acquisition of Seagen, a biotech company specializing in antibody-drug conjugates, for 43 billion USD, is beginning to pay off. Eight of Seagen's new cancer therapies are expected to achieve blockbuster status with each generating over one billion USD in revenue by 2030.

At this year's congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology, Pfizer presented positive data on Seagen's drug Padcev, which significantly improved progression-free survival in patients with aggressive bladder cancer. Pfizer also demonstrated that the combination of its self-developed drugs Braftovi and Mektovi increased the median progression-free survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer to over 30 months in mid-stage studies.

The year 2024 will be crucial for Pfizer's oncology division according to Boshoff, as the company plans late-stage studies on lung and breast cancer. The success of the Seagen acquisition is of great importance to Pfizer, as the company hopes for a recovery following a pandemic-induced slump that saw its stock price fall by 50 percent since its peak in 2021.