Dec 13 Reuters Pfizer on Wednesday forecast 2024 sales that could be as much as 5 billion below Wall Street expectations, a move top executives said provided a more reliable view of its COVID19 business than it had this year, driving shares to a 10year low.

Revenue from Pfizer39;s COVID19 vaccine and treatment, which peaked at 57 billion in 2022, are now expected to be 8 billion in 2024, a further drop from the 13 billion analysts39; forecast and Pfizer39;s own lowered view of 12.5 billion for this year.

We want to be conservative, Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said on a conference call with investors. We want to be reliable so we won39;t create uncertainty again, which was the case, unfortunately, this year.

Pfizer used some of its COVID windfall to acquire companies, including a 43 billion deal for cancer drugmaker Seagen it expects to close this week, and began selling a new RSV vaccine. But the recent RSV launch has been disappointing, trailing a rival39;s shot, and shares have fallen 44 so far this year.

In addition, COVID vaccinations in the U.S. have dropped sharply with just about 17 of the eligible population getting the most recent updated boosters due in part to declining concern about the virus, as well as vaccine fatigue.

The New Yorkbased drugmaker also forecast 2024 adjusted profit in the range of 2.05 to 2.25 per share, lower than analysts39; expectation of 3.16.

Pfizer shares closed down another 6.7 on Wednesday, losing nearly 11…