Pfizer and BioNTech to Co-Develop Potential COVID-19 Vaccine - Companies will jointly develop BioNTech’s mRNA-based vaccine candidate BNT162 to prevent COVID-19 infection Collaboration aims to accelerate global development of BNT162, leveraging expertise and resources of both companies Builds on 2018 agreement to jointly develop an mRNA-based influenza vaccine. See also: Racing to Develop a Potential COVID-19 Vaccine with Unprecedented Partnership
Pfizer Shares Safety Data on Azithromycin-Hydroxychloroquine Combination - Recently, a group of French researchers disclosed results of an independent study in France exploring the use of hydroxychloroquine in 20 patients for the potential treatment of COVID-19 diseasei . Among those 20 patients, six also received Pfizer’s product, azithromycin (Zithromax®). In that study, the proportion of patients with virologic cure after 6 days (as indicated by negative PCR tests) was higher in the 20 patients who received hydroxychloroquine as compared to the 16 controls. The highest rate of cure was seen in those that also received azithromycin—all six of those patients achieved virologic cure. In light of these preliminary findings, and as Pfizer interprets the data in the context of previous research into other infectious diseases, the company would like to share additional information that may facilitate the further exploration of this combination.