By Bhanvi Satija and Michael Erman

July 30 (Reuters) - Pfizer ( PFE ) raised its annual

profit forecast on Tuesday, helped by cancer treatments acquired

through a $43 billion deal for Seagen and strong sales of its

heart disease drug as the company deals with a sharp revenue

drop from COVID products.

The market for Pfizer's ( PFE ) COVID-19 vaccine and treatment has

shrunk by billions of dollars a year.

Pfizer ( PFE ) CEO Albert Bourla responded with several

acquisitions, including the Seagen deal and cost-cutting

measures. The New York-based drugmaker has also sharpened its

focus on cancer treatments.

Investors fled from Pfizer ( PFE ) as COVID worries declined and the

company's shares are trading at around half their pandemic-era

highs.

J.P. Morgan analyst Chris Schott said he expects Pfizer's ( PFE )

stock to continue to trade in the current range due to limited

revenue growth and stronger expectations for many of its rivals.

"We believe stronger new launch performance and/or further

progress on the pipeline will be necessary to significantly

change the narrative," he wrote in a research note.

Shares of the New York-based drugmaker were up about 1% at

$31.05 in early trading.

Quarterly sales grew 3% to $13.3 billion, marking its first

quarter of sales growth since COVID revenue peaked in late 2022.

The quarter was helped by sales of its heart disease drug,

sold under brand names Vyndaqel or Vyndamax and cancer therapy

Padcev.

Pfizer ( PFE ) now expects annual profit to be in the range of $2.45

to $2.65 per share, compared with its prior profit forecast of

$2.15 to $2.35 per share.

BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman said given the

company's previous conservative forecast, the increase was

somewhat expected. "Still, we are encouraged to see Pfizer ( PFE )

executing where it matters," he wrote in a research note.

Pfizer ( PFE ) also raised its full-year sales forecast for its

antiviral treatment Paxlovid for high-risk COVID cases by $500

million to $3.5 billion.

Vyndaqel sales came in $200 million ahead of analyst

estimates at $1.32 billion for the quarter, according to LSEG

data.

Sales of bladder and urinary tract cancer treatment Padcev

were $394 million for the quarter, beating estimates of $362

million.

Quarterly sales of the COVID vaccine Pfizer ( PFE ) makes with

German partner BioNTech were $195 million, while

Paxlovid sales were $251 million. Analysts were expecting sales

of $176 million for Comirnaty and $247.7 million for Paxlovid.