Pfizer clinches coronavirus vaccine deal, sees potential in antiviral treatment
10 Apr, 2020U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) said on Thursday that early data has helped it identify a drug candidate with the potential to help treat patients infected with the novel coronavirus.
It also finalized a plan to develop a coronavirus vaccine in partnership with German drugmaker BioNTech SE (22UAy.F) and said the companies hope to produce millions of vaccines by the end of 2020. The companies said they plan to start trials of the vaccine as early as this month.
Data from preclinical studies of a compound that was originally developed to treat SARS - a different coronavirus that caused a major epidemic in 2003 - shows its potential to treat patients with the new coronavirus, Pfizer research chief Mikael Dolsten told Reuters in an interview.
Pfizer said it will conduct additional preclinical studies of the drug and aims to begin trials in humans in the third quarter of 2020.
In addition, Pfizer said it plans to support studies to determine whether existing Pfizer medicines, including its rheumatoid arthritis drug Xeljanz, may provide benefits for those struggling with the COVID-19 respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus.
