Pfizer at Morgan Stanley conference: pipeline, AI and China focus

On Monday, September 14, 2026, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla addressed the Morgan Stanley 24th Annual Global Healthcare Conference to discuss the company's pipeline, investments in artificial intelligence, and its strategic focus on China. Despite facing three major challenges in 2025, Bourla asserted that Pfizer had successfully navigated tariff and Most Favored Nation pricing issues, uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 sales, and the impending loss of drug exclusivity.

The company reported that its pipeline, acquisitions, and cost-cutting efforts were helping to offset these risks. Pfizer's annualized new products and business development assets have grown to approximately $13 billion, with a growth rate of about 20%. Over the past three years, Pfizer has cut its cost base by $7.2 billion while simultaneously increasing revenue.

Bourla emphasized that China is emerging as a significant source of pharmaceutical innovation, potentially producing global competitors. He highlighted obesity, oncology, and artificial intelligence as key areas of focus for Pfizer's long-term strategy. The company reported beating revenue expectations in nine of the last ten earnings periods, including 2024, 2025, and the first two quarters of 2026. Pfizer also beat earnings per share expectations in all ten of those periods.

In addition to its cost-cutting efforts, Pfizer has invested about $80 billion in business development over the past three years, with around 80% of that amount directed towards three acquisitions: Seagen, Biohaven, and Metsera. Seagen's NURTEC ODT has been particularly successful, contributing to the company's growth. Metsera is providing Pfizer with a platform in the obesity market.

Pfizer's leverage stands at approximately 2.7 times, with around $6 billion in M&A capacity. While this is lower than some of its competitors, Bourla noted that Pfizer has invested more in business development over the past three years than any of its peers. The company's debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75 supports the manageable balance sheet despite aggressive M&A activity.

Bourla stated that 2025 is expected to be the smallest COVID season in recent memory, with COVID-19 no longer negatively impacting earnings and now considered an upside to guidance. He also mentioned bipartisan support for pharmacy benefit manager reform, although he expressed less optimism regarding broader 340B reform due to the sensitive political nature of the issue.

Bourla highlighted that the Department of Health and Human Services will launch a 340B pilot program in January 2027, which will affect drugs like ELIQUIS and IBRANCE.

The CEO emphasized that Chinese biotech is becoming a formidable force in global drug development, with China performing three times faster than its peers at half the cost. Pfizer has approximately 1,500 R&D employees in China, conducting thorough due diligence on Chinese assets, including patient-by-patient record reviews and hospital site visits.

Bourla expects a future emergence of a large Chinese multinational drug company by the end of the decade, which would expand the competitive landscape beyond established players such as Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, and Merck. He noted that Pfizer is working to become three times faster and half the cost, leveraging artificial intelligence as a key tool to achieve this goal.