Covid-19 Vaccine 90% Effective In Phase 3 Trial, Says US Pharma Giant Pfizer

This came after the first interim efficacy analysis conducted on November 8, 2020 by an external, independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC) from the Phase 3 clinical study.

(Representative Image/ Getty)

Vaccine candidate of US-based pharma company Pfizer Inc and German biotech company BioNTech BNT162b2, today announced their mRNA-based vaccine has demonstrated evidence of efficacy against COVID-19 in participants. Also Read|Drugs Case: After Arjun Rampal, NCB Summons Actor's Girlfriend Gabriella Demetriades On November 11 This came after the first interim efficacy analysis conducted on November 8, 2020, by an external, independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC) from the Phase 3 clinical study. "Vaccine candidate was found to be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 in participants without evidence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first interim efficacy analysis," Pfizer said in a statement. Pfizer said both the companies are working to prepare the necessary safety and manufacturing data to submit to the US drug regulator to demonstrate the safety and quality of the vaccine product produced. "Based on current projections we expect to produce globally up to 50 million vaccine doses in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021," it added. Pfizer and BioNTech plan to submit data from the full Phase 3 trial for scientific peer-review publication. The Phase 3 clinical trial of BNT162b2 vaccine candidate began on July 27 and has enrolled 43,538 participants to date, 38,955 of whom have received a second dose of the vaccine candidate as of November 8, 2020. “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," said Dr. Albert Bourla, Pfizer Chairman and CEO. “We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development program 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." “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.