A COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) could be ready for review in October. This is according to additional data released by the two companies from an early-stage study. Pfizer, a U.S drug maker and BioNTech, a German biotechnology company, shared positive early data from the Phase 1 study of BNT162, the two companies’ COVID-19 vaccine candidate. The candidate advanced to the second phase of the trial in July and is among seven drugs that are currently at a late-stage trial.
The two companies said the vaccine was well tolerated with mild to moderate fever in less than 20% of the participants. The companies are still studying data collected from Phase 1 trials in the U.S. and Germany.
The positive news on the inoculation efforts helped lift S&P 500 futures briefly on Friday. The October timeline announcement makes the company a front runner in the hunt for a COVID-19 vaccine. Analysts have projected that a vaccine may be approved by November in the U.S.
Pfizer and BioNTech signs deal to supply 100 million doses of their experimental COVID-19 vaccine
Pfizer and BioNTech recently announced reaching an agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense to deliver 300 million doses of a vaccine for COVID-19 in 2021 under the government’s Operation Warp Speed program. The program seeks to fast track the hunt for a vaccine through government funding. The U.S government has bankrolled several pharmaceuticals that are involved in the search for a COVID-19 vaccine.
The first phase of the agreement will see the companies deliver 100 million doses of the vaccine. The agreement gives the government an option to purchase an additional 200 million doses at the same rates.
Another front runner in the search for a vaccine is Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), which recently announced that it will soon roll out the largest Phase 3 study of a COVID-19 vaccine. The company said it is recruiting 600,000 people worldwide in the late-stage trial expected to start in September after its Phase 1/2a clinical trial started in July.