Pfizer has announced that the vaccine they are developing with BioNTech SE to combat the effects of the coronavirus “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.”
This means we are getting closer to an effective vaccine against COVID-19 based on recent studies. Pfizer said their mRNA-based vaccine candidate, BNT162b2, SARS-CoV-2 has demonstrated to be efficiently effective against the coronavirus in test subjects without prior evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This analysis is based on the first interim efficacy analysis conducted last week, on Nov. 8, 2020, by an external, independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC) from the Phase 3 clinical study.
“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 in a written statement. “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.”
The Phase 3 clinical trial of the potential vaccine, BNT162b2, started back in July and has since enrolled 43,538 people to date, 38,955 of whom have received a second dose of the vaccine candidate as of Nov. 8, 2020. About 42% of the global participants and 30% of the U.S. participants have racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds. The trial will continue through the final analysis when a total of 164 confirmed COVID-19 cases have accrued.
“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.”