New York, Feb 10, 2026, 14:23 ET — Session ongoing
- Pfizer shares climbed roughly 2% in afternoon trading, outpacing the flat U.S. healthcare sector
- Swiss venture incubator BaseLaunch announced Pfizer as its latest pharma partner
- After last week’s headlines on obesity drugs and earnings, investors are now focusing on Pfizer’s pipeline catalysts set for 2026
Pfizer Inc shares climbed 2.1% to $27.62 Tuesday afternoon, beating a largely flat U.S. healthcare sector and a mostly steady broader market. The jump followed news that BaseLaunch, a Swiss biotech venture incubator, announced Pfizer had joined its platform as a partner.
The stock jumps at any sign of a new growth driver. Pfizer is working hard to persuade investors that its post-pandemic shift will generate lasting revenue, not just rely on cost-cutting and restructuring.
Deal flow is back in focus for big pharma, particularly for those facing steep patent cliffs and in need of new pipeline candidates. Early-stage access won’t boost earnings right away, but it shapes the story about what’s next after the Covid wind-down.
BaseLaunch announced Pfizer as its seventh pharma partner, giving the drugmaker a foothold in early-stage life sciences deals across central Europe and access to BaseLaunch’s company-building efforts. The Basel-based incubator has supported 27 biotech startups, with its portfolio raising over $1 billion so far. BaseLaunch director Stephan Emmerth emphasized that “adding new partnerships” would strengthen its “early-stage biotech ventures.” (PR Newswire)
The deal comes as investors weigh Pfizer’s recent results and its growing focus on obesity treatments. Last week, Pfizer announced fourth-quarter revenue of $17.56 billion and adjusted earnings of 66 cents per share, while reaffirming its 2026 revenue forecast of $59.5 billion to $62.5 billion. The company also released mid-stage data for its monthly obesity drug PF-3944, which showed up to 12.3% weight loss after 28 weeks, though about 10% of patients withdrew due to side effects. CEO Albert Bourla described the obesity effort as aiming for “breakthrough medicines” in a market that “could be a $150 billion” opportunity. (Reuters)
Regulators are in the spotlight again. On Feb. 6, Pfizer announced the FDA accepted and granted Priority Review for a supplemental biologics license application for HYMPAVZI (marstacimab). The new approval would expand use to hemophilia patients aged 6 and up with inhibitors, and children 6 to 11 without inhibitors. The FDA has set an action date for the second quarter of 2026. Priority Review speeds up the timeline, and Pfizer’s Michael Vincent highlighted the “significant medical need” for younger patients and those with inhibitors. (Pfizer)
Pfizer is entering the obesity market, where Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk currently hold sway. Traders remain cautious, as factors like dosing, tolerability, and treatment persistence continue to shape the commercial outlook. On Tuesday, Lilly’s shares dipped roughly 1%, while Novo’s stock barely moved.
But tougher challenges remain: incubator partnerships often take years before yielding products, and Pfizer’s obesity program still needs to demonstrate it can maintain patient adherence while competing with rivals on both weight loss and safety.
Investors are now focused on updates about Pfizer’s obesity trial timeline and the FDA’s expected decision on HYMPAVZI’s label expansion, set for the second quarter. The wider markets are also keyed into this week’s U.S. economic calendar, with crucial labor and inflation numbers still to come after Tuesday’s data drop. (Investopedia)
