PFIZER, MODERNA COULD SECURE $32B IN COVID VACCINE SALES IN 2021

The imminent authorization of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine in the US is a momentous occasion for science, the economy and humanity. The milestone is also a major moneymaker for the companies that developed the vaccines, Matt Egan reported for CNN Business.

Wall Street analysts are projecting Pfizer and Moderna will generate $32 billion in COVID-19 vaccine revenue -- next year alone.

That doesn't take into account the goodwill boost these companies will receive by helping to end the worst pandemic in a century. That boost is magnified for Moderna, a young biotech company that few people had heard of before 2020 that could now be on the cusp of getting its own FDA authorization.

Pfizer by itself is projected to haul in $19 billion in COVID-19 vaccine revenue in 2021, according to Morgan Stanley. That's on top of an estimated $975 million in 2020 vaccine revenue. Pfizer will split its revenues with BioNTech, the German company it partnered with to develop the vaccine.

A panel of FDA advisers recommended that the agency grant emergency use authorization (EUA) to the vaccine candidate the pair developed. US officials have said they are working "rapidly" to give the vaccine the green light. The Pfizer vaccine was already authorized by the United Kingdom earlier this month. Pfizer is expected to take in $9.3 billion more in combined COVID-19 vaccine revenue in 2022 and 2023 as the world continues to get vaccinated, Morgan Stanley projected.