Kirkland, Quebec—Known as the BNT162 mRNA- Based Vaccine, it should be supplied as early as 2021 state the two companies. Of course it is subject to Health Canada’s approval at the moment, but the announcement is good news enough for Canadians, regardless.
Pfizer Canada stated that they: “ … began a Phase 2b/3 safety and efficacy trial and remain on track to seek regulatory review as early as October 2020, and manufacture globally up to 100 million doses by the end of 2020 and approximately 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021.”
The announcement was made yesterday. Financial information, or rather the exact ins and outs of the partnership were not disclosed, but they announced that they are rearing and ready to move onto the next phase once the acceptance goes through by Health Canada.
Cole C. Pinnow, the President of Pfizer Canada, said: “We continue to be committed to partnering with the Canadian government to help fight this pandemic and are pleased with their collaborative approach to addressing a national COVID-19 immunization strategy with public health officials. With our combined efforts, we know there is no health challenge that we cannot address.”
Further statements were made by The Honorable Anita Anand, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement for the Government of Canada: “As the development of effective COVID-19 vaccines continues around the world, we commend the work of Pfizer and BioNTech, which will provide Canadians access to a vaccine candidate for the virus. This agreement is another critical step in our government’s efforts to keep Canadians safe and healthy as the pandemic continues to evolve.”
At the moment, the vaccine development program is actually taking a look at four possible vaccines: “ … each of which represents a unique combination of messenger RNA (mRNA) format and target antigen,” according to Pfizer.
Phase ½ did well, so, they were allowed to go further with the BNT162b2 vaccine into the 2/3 phase.
Phase 2/3 will include trials (in 2 dosages) in people between the ages of 18-85.
On the United States side of things, BNT162b2 has received Fast Track designation by the FDA, which is extremely promising.
Fast Track designation is a US-based designation and can be given to drugs in development to test them further should the FDA approve of them and see a promise in said drugs.
Pfizer and BioNTech and the work they’ve put forth will be under regulatory review by October of this year and if approved, they’ve announce that they can supply as much as 100 million doses around the world and possibly up to 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021.
