Finance and Economic News on October 8 (Editor: Niu Zhanlin) At present, the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine is considered the most imaginative vaccine product in the market, with major vaccine manufacturers globally entering the field. However, the latest data shows a significant decrease in sales of this vaccine in the USA.

Some independent pharmacists state that the demand for RSV vaccines in autumn has dropped by two-thirds compared to a year ago. Data from medical care company IQVIA and reports from some Wall Street analysts roughly align with this figure.

RSV, as a widely spread virus, poses a significant health threat to infants, the elderly, and individuals with compromised immune systems. Each year, the countless RSV infection cases leading to hospitalization and death place a heavy burden on society and families. In the USA, it results in hospitalizations of 0.177 million people and deaths of 0.014 million people each year.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the USA recommends RSV vaccination for people aged 75 and above, as well as the high-risk group aged 60 to 74, with this vaccine providing protection for multiple years after a single vaccination.

GlaxoSmithKline, Moderna, and Pfizer are engaged in fierce competition, and Wall Street is closely monitoring the sales of RSV vaccines from these three companies.

Erin Fox, a pharmacist from the University of Utah responsible for collecting drug shortage data, stated that the decrease in demand for RSV vaccines is related to a government decision in June. The CDC reduced its recommendations for RSV vaccination for the elderly in June and temporarily not recommended the vaccines for adults under 60.

Fox added that the number of people receiving RSV vaccines will definitely decrease because previous demands have been met, and now the criteria for who should be vaccinated have become stricter.

Jefferies Financial analyst Peter Welford said in a report last week that the activities so far indicate that GlaxoSmithKline's third-quarter sales of Arexvy may fall short of Wall Street's expectations. Arexvy is the world's first RSV vaccine, which was approved for listing in the US in May last year.

A spokesperson for GlaxoSmithKline claimed that 9 million Americans have been vaccinated with Arexvy, but still believe that the product has strong growth potential in both the US and globally. According to statistics, about 24% of adults over 60 years old were vaccinated with the RSV vaccine last year, with over 30% of adults over 70 years old being vaccinated. "We still expect Arexvy's annual sales to peak at $3.92 billion."

Data shows that in September last year, an average of about 0.44 million people were vaccinated with GlaxoSmithKline or Pfizer's RSV vaccine each week; while in September this year, the average number of people per week is around 0.157 million.

Pharmacist Steve Moore claims that those who support vaccination and are excited about the RSV vaccine may have already been vaccinated.

In 2023, GlaxoSmithKline's RSV vaccine sales were $1.564 billion, while Pfizer achieved sales of $0.89 billion, only half of GlaxoSmithKline's. The market expects GlaxoSmithKline's sales to decrease slightly to around $1.5 billion this year, while Pfizer's sales are expected to increase by nearly 40% to reach $1.2 billion.