Pfizer could have results from its late-stage coronavirus vaccine trial as early as October, CEO Albert Bourla said Thursday.
The pharmaceutical company has already enrolled 23,000 volunteers in the phase three trial that began in late July, Bourla said during a Q&A with the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations, a trade group. It hopes to enroll at least 30,000 participants, he said.
“We expect by the end of October, we should have enough … to say whether the product works or not,” he said.
U.S. health officials have previously said results from late-stage vaccine trials could come in November or sooner.
Pfizer’s potential vaccine is one of three backed by the U.S. that’s currently in late-stage testing. The U.S.-based pharmaceutical giant has been working alongside German drugmaker BioNTech. The companies’ experimental vaccine contains genetic material called messenger RNA, or mRNA. In July, the company released promising data from its early-stage trial.
The phase three trial is expected to include up to 30,000 participants between the ages of 18 and 85 across 120 sites globally, including 39 U.S. states, the company has said. If it is successful, they expect to submit it for final regulatory review as early as October. They plan to supply up to 100 million doses by the end of 2020 and approximately 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021.
In July, the U.S. government announced it would pay Pfizer and BioNTech $1.95 billion to produce and deliver 100 million doses of their vaccine if it proves safe and effective. The deal was signed as part of Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s effort to accelerate development and production of vaccines and treatments to fight the coronavirus.
