Last Updated : Oct 27, 2020 06:36 PM IST | Source: Reuters

Pfizer not yet ready to release COVID-19 vaccine data

Pfizer hopes to be the first US drugmaker to unveil successful data from a late-stage COVID-19 vaccine trial, ahead of rival Moderna Inc.

Reuters

Drugmaker Pfizer Inc said on October 27 it was not yet ready to release data from the late-stage trial of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate it is developing with Germany's BioNTech SE.

Pfizer's CEO Albert Bourla has said the company could release data on whether or not the vaccine works as early as this month, but the company said in a presentation that the independent data monitoring board which will determine whether or not the trial has been successful has not conducted any interim efficacy analyses yet.

Shares were flat at $37.93 before the opening bell.

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US President Donald Trump had said a vaccine could be available before the Nov. 3 election, but in recent weeks his administration has emphasized that one will be ready this year.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

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How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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Pfizer hopes to be the first US drugmaker to unveil successful data from a late-stage COVID-19 vaccine trial, ahead of rival Moderna Inc. Pfizer and BioNTech launched their 44,000 volunteer phase 3 study of their vaccine candidate in late July.

The data monitoring board is scheduled to make its first assessment of the vaccine's performance after 32 participants in the trial become infected with the novel coronavirus.

As the pandemic crimps demand for certain Pfizer therapies and damages global economies, investors are keenly focused on seeing the late-stage study data of the vaccine candidate being developed with BioNTech.

Pfizer reported quarterly earnings that beat estimates by one cent, helped by better-than-expected sales of its cancer drug Ibrance. Overall sales fell 4.3% in the third quarter, hurt by a plunge in sales of its off-patent pain drug Lyrica and a $500 million hit to sales from the COVID-19 pandemic. Sales of cancer drug Ibrance grew 6% to $1.36 billion, beating analyst estimates of $1.39 billion, despite increased competition from Eli Lilly's Verzenio. Excluding items, Pfizer earned 72 cents per share, beating analysts estimates of 71 cents per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

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First Published on Oct 27, 2020 06:35 pm

tags #coronavirus #Health #Pfizer #World News