There seems to be an end in sight to the global pandemic ravaging countries across the world as Pfizer Inc. declared its latest findings from its Phase 3 trial of COVID-19 vaccine candidate, which has shown more than 90% efficacy in participants without prior evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Pfizer in conjunction with the German drugmaker BioNTech, announced their milestone discovery on Monday, following a first formal review of data by external panel of experts.
In a release obtained from Pfizer’s website, both pharmaceutical manufacturers revealed their intention to apply for emergency use of the vaccine by end of November, while they compile safety data as specified by the Food and Drug Administration, FDA.
The vaccine has been tested on 43,500 people in six countries and no safety concerns have been raised while it continuing to enroll and is expected to continue through the final analysis when a total of 164 confirmed COVID-19 cases have accrued.
Speaking on the breakthrough made by the companies, Pfizer Chairman and CEO, Dr Albert Bourla, remarked: “Today is a great day for science and humanity. The first set of results from our Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial provides the initial evidence of our vaccine’s ability to prevent COVID-19.
“We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development programme at a time when the world needs it most with infection rates setting new records, hospitals nearing over-capacity and economies struggling to reopen. With today’s news, we are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis. We look forward to sharing additional efficacy and safety data generated from thousands of participants in the coming weeks.
“I want to thank the thousands of people who volunteered to participate in the clinical trial, our academic collaborators and investigators at the study sites, and our colleagues and collaborators around the world who are dedicating their time to this crucial endeavor,” added Bourla. “We could not have come this far without the tremendous commitment of everyone involved”, we acknowledged.
The statement further disclosed that going by current projections, the partnership is expected to produce about 50 million vaccine doses in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021 for global community use.
“The first interim analysis of our global Phase 3 study provides evidence that a vaccine may effectively prevent COVID-19. This is a victory for innovation, science and a global collaborative effort,” said Prof. Ugur Sahin, BioNTech co-founder and CEO.
“When we embarked on this journey 10 months ago this is what we aspired to achieve. Especially today, while we are all in the midst of a second wave and many of us in lockdown, we appreciate even more how important this milestone is on our path towards ending this pandemic and for all of us to regain a sense of normality. We will continue to collect further data as the trial continues to enroll for a final analysis planned when a total of 164 confirmed COVID-19 cases have accrued. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to make this important achievement possible”, Sahin emphasised.
