Pfizer is one of 10 companies developing COVID Vaccine in Phase 3 Trial

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There are 10 potential COVID-19 vaccines in the Phase III trial (final stage) of their clinical evaluation. The World Health Organization (WHO) report published on 3^rd November and it says four of which are being developed by U.S companies. This includes one from American pharmaceutical company Pfizer, in collaboration with Germany’s BioNTech firm. Pfizer said in a statement Monday that the vaccine will be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19. Pfizer is expecting to apply for Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA (U.S Food and Drug Administration) in the 3^rd week of November after the required safety milestone is achieved. The chairman and CEO of Pfizer, Dr. Albert Bourla said, “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”.

Bourla added, “We look forward to sharing additional efficacy and safety data generated from thousands of participants in the coming weeks”. The WHO also said that there are currently 47 vaccine candidates under clinical evaluation, while 155 candidates are in pre-clinical evaluation. Here we look at some of the latest major COVID-19 vaccine developments around the world. Point to be noted that three other U.S companies are at the Phase III stage. The vaccine candidate is being developed by the Massachusetts-based biotechnology firm Moderna and the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases in the Phase III trial for mRNA-1273, in late October. It completed its enrollment of 30,000 participants.

Last month, Moderna said, “Moderna will determine whether to submit a dossier to FDA requesting Emergency Use Authorization based on an assessment of whether the potential benefit of the vaccine outweighs the potential risks once the two months of median safety follow-up have accrued”. The company confirmed it was on track to reveal interim data this month. Maryland-based biotechnology firm Novavax announced on Monday that the FDA has granted a Fast Track Designation for its vaccine candidate NVX-CoV2373. The President of research and development at Novavax, Dr. Gregory Glenn said, “The FDA’s decision reflects the urgent need for a safe and effective vaccine to prevent COVID-19 and we look forward to working closely with the agency to accelerate access to this vaccine”.