Recently acquired drugs also drove revenue. Biohaven Pharmaceuticals' migraine drug Nurtec ODT and Global Blood Therapeutics' sickle cell disease treatment Oxbryta drew in $233 million and $85 million, respectively.
The company said revenue was also fueled by strong sales of Vyndaqel drugs, which are used to treat a certain type of cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle. Those drugs booked $892 million in sales, up 48% from the third quarter of 2022.
A group of shots to protect against pneumococcal pneumonia also contributed, raking in $1.85 billion in sales for the quarter, up 15% from the year-ago period.
Meanwhile, Pfizer's blood thinner Eliquis posted $1.49 billion in revenue for the third quarter, up just 2% from a year ago. That came in slightly under analysts' estimates of $1.54 billion, according to FactSet.
Eliquis, which is marketed in partnership with , is among the first 10 drugs to face Medicare drug price negotiations.
Wells Fargo analyst Mohit Bansal said in a research note Tuesday that the operational revenue growth during the quarter "bodes well" for Pfizer to meet its full-year guidance of 6% to 8% growth for non-Covid products compared to 2022.
Pfizer is hoping to shift investor focus away from Covid toward its growth opportunities, including mergers and acquisitions and a record pipeline.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla noted that the company is nearing its goal of launching 19 new products or drug indications in an 18-month span – a target set last year. Indications refer to using a drug for a different disease type.
The company had a busy few months of product launches, which included a vaccine for , an ulcerative colitis pill, a meningococcal vaccine and of course, the newest version of its Covid vaccine. That brings Pfizer to 13 out of 19 planned product launches.
Among the six remaining product launches is Pfizer's experimental flu vaccine, which it expects to launch after 2024. The company on Tuesday announced that its shot achieved positive initial results when compared to a currently marketed flu vaccine in an ongoing late-stage trial on people ages 18 to 64.
But investors are still waiting for more data on Pfizer's flu vaccine in adults 65 and older. People 65 years and older are at higher risk of developing serious complications from flu, compared with young, healthy adults. Between 70% and 85% of seasonal flu-related deaths in the U.S. occurred among people 65 years and older in recent years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Investors are also waiting for updates on a midstage trial of Pfizer's oral obesity pill , which could potentially compete with 's experimental obesity pill orforglipron. Positive data could solidify Pfizer as a viable competitor in the weight loss drug space, which and Eli Lilly have so far dominated.
Pfizer executives said that the company expects to close its of cancer therapy maker in late 2023 or early 2024, subject to customary closing conditions such as clearance by the Federal Trade Commission.
The European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, the proposed buyout earlier this month.
Pfizer continues to believe the deal could contribute more than $10 billion in risk-adjusted sales by 2030.
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