The US government also has the option to purchase up to 500 million additional doses (representation)
Washington:
The United States on Tuesday signed a $ 1.95 billion deal with US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech for 100 million doses of their experimental COVID-19 vaccine, as part of an aggressive campaign to begin to vaccinate Americans early next year.
This is the largest deal to date under Operation Warp Speed, intended to accelerate the development, manufacture and distribution of coronavirus vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.
Pfizer and BioNTech, who are jointly developing the drug, have said in statements that the American people will receive the future vaccine “for free” as per the Trump administration’s commitment.
Under the deal, the US government has placed an initial order for 100 million doses to be delivered if regulatory approval is granted.
The US government also has the option of purchasing up to 500 million additional doses from the two companies.
BioNTech and Pfizer have narrowed down their vaccine candidates to two pioneers and are awaiting the green light to begin a mass trial involving 30,000 healthy volunteers, which could happen later this month.
If the studies are successful, they expect to receive some form of emergency approval as early as October 2020.
Earlier this month, they announced that initial results show their lead candidate producing neutralizing antibodies in humans at or above levels seen in recovered COVID-19 patients.
This was accomplished with relatively low doses and caused mild to moderate but transient side effects which is considered normal.
“We are building a vaccine portfolio to increase the chances that the American people will have at least one safe and effective vaccine by the end of this year,” Health Secretary Alex Azar said of the deal. .
“We are honored to be part of this effort to provide Americans with access to protection against this deadly virus,” added Albert Bourla, Chairman and CEO of Pfizer.
– Vaccine race –
Laboratories around the world are rushing to produce a vaccine to help end the worst health crisis in more than a century.
More than 200 candidate vaccines are currently in development, of which about two dozen are in clinical trials with human volunteers.
Earlier this month, the United States signed a $ 1.6 billion deal with Novavax for 100 million doses.
In May, the government announced up to $ 1.2 billion for AstraZeneca’s vaccine candidate, developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford.
The United States has also announced $ 456 million for Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine candidate; $ 486 million for Moderna; and $ 628 million for Emergent Biosolutions.
The government is also investing in manufacturing capacity at its own risk, spending hundreds of millions on companies that produce syringes, vials and plastic containers with medical glass coating.
– RNA vaccine –
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine method relies on the use of messenger RNA, the genetic code for SARS-CoV-2 that creeps into human cells to produce a synthetic form of the virus spike protein.
This in turn causes the host to generate antibodies. The idea behind the technology is decades old, but has never seen a vaccine gain regulatory approval.
A spokeswoman for BioNTech told AFP that two injections would likely be needed for maximum protection, with the booster following seven days after the first injection.
Based on the price paid by the US government, therefore, it would cost $ 39 to immunize a person against the deadly virus.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
