Looking at 2021, Pfizer claims it can produce up to 1.3 million doses. A challenging element of the vaccine is the fact that two dosages are required to be protected from COVID-19. The company expected preliminary data on vaccine safety right around this time.
Pfizer and BioNTech did not receive funding from Operation Warp Speed
Pfizer and BioNTech are not part of President Donald Trump’s Operation Warp Speed, a program that provided funding for pharmaceutical companies to accelerate the development and production of a COVID-19 vaccine. BioNTech received $445 million in funding from the German government. It has a history working with Pfizer on influenza vaccines. In March, both companies agreed to partner in developing a vaccine to prevent COVID-19.
In July, the Trump administration agreed to pay nearly $2 billion for 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine once the companies obtain approval. Under the deal, the U.S. has an option to buy 500 million more doses.
Aside from Pfizer, Moderna Inc.’s (NASDAQ: MRNA) vaccine under development also showed positive results since it utilizes comparable mRNA technology. AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ: AZN), Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) are also developing COVID-19 vaccines.
