2020: Coronavirus vaccineEdit
In May 2020, Pfizer began testing four different
coronavirus vaccine variations to help end the
COVID-19 pandemic and planned to expand human trials to thousands of test patients by September 2020. The pharma company injected doses of the potential vaccine
BNT162, which was developed by the drugmaker
BioNTech (
NASDAQ:
BNTX) from
Mainz,
Germany, into the first human participants in the U.S. in early May. Based on the results, Pfizer said they "will be able to deliver millions of doses in the October time frame" and expects to produce hundreds of millions of doses in 2021.
[84]
In July 2020, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that two of the partners' four
mRNA vaccine candidates had won fast track designation from the
FDA.
[85][86] The company began Phase 3 testing in the last week of July 2020 on 30,000 people and was slated to be paid $1.95 billion for 100 million doses of the vaccine by the United States.
[87] The U.S. deal priced two doses at $39 and the company stated that it would not lower the rates for other countries until the outbreak is no longer a pandemic.
[88] Pfizer's CEO stated the companies in the private sector producing a vaccine should make a profit.
[89]
In September 2020, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that they had completed talks with the European Commission to provide an initial 200 million vaccine doses to the EU, with the option to supply another 100 million doses at a later date.
[90][91]
In October 2020, it was reported that Pfizer would start testing its coronavirus vaccine on a broader range of subjects including children as young as 12. This would be the first coronavirus vaccine trial to include children in the United States.
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