Published - Mar 15, 2022 @ 11:21 AM (EET)

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According to a recent Reuters report, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) said it would not run any new clinical trials in Russia and stop recruitment for existing practices there.

The pharmaceutical company said it would work with the FDA and other regulators to transition all clinical trials to alternative sites outside Russia but added that Pfizer would continue to provide drugs to the patients already enrolled in studies.

While global companies have decided to step back from Russia as pressure mounts from Western consumers to take a stand against its invasion of Ukraine, Pfizer responded differently.  

The company said, "Ending delivery of medicines, including cancer and or cardiovascular therapies, would cause significant patient suffering and potential loss for life, particularly among children and elderly people."  Pfizer added that a voluntary pause in the flow of medicines to Russia would be "in direct violation of our foundational principle of putting patients first."

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Pfizer will be donating all profits from its unit in the country to causes that provide humanitarian support to the Ukrainian people.  The company didn't specify its sales and profit in Russia or give a breakdown in the figures in earnings.

As millions seek shelter from bombardment and flee to neighboring countries, the invasion left drugmakers scrambling to get enrollments in clinical trials in Ukraine.  

Pfizer, along with other Western drugmakers and medical device companies, has warned their plans to keep selling their products to Russia might become complicated due to the imposed sanction, even though it does not apply to such products.

Just days earlier, CEO Albert Bourla of Pfizer said that it would halt its investments in Russia. 

PRICE TARGET:  Shares of Pfizer traded higher by 4.3%, with its strength possibly due to the spike in COVID-19 cases in China, which could lift vaccine sector sentiment.

"Though China itself may not order vaccines from Western companies, the surge could spur other countries to order more vaccine doses for this year and 2023." - Jefferies

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