The pharma firm Pfizer confirmed Tuesday that a new COVID-19 vaccine could be tested next week. As the Chief Executive said, a new formula definitely has the potential for emergency use by fall.
Development of the vaccine against the coronavirus is underway in the laboratories of Pfizer. The pharmaceutical giant cooperates with German-based BioNtech to deliver the possible treatment preventing the coronavirus. As Pfizer CEO said, the trials have already started on human volunteers in Germany.
“This is a crisis right now, and a solution is desperately needed by all,” Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla told the Wall Street Journal.
Taking into account the importance of vaccine development, health regulators in the US may approve testing the vaccine on humans by next week, Bourla suggested.
If that timeline holds true, study results could be delivered within a month. Then, with favorable testing outcomes, the vaccine may be ready to distribute in emergency cases by the fall, Bourla said.
The New York-based corporation has invested $650 million into developing and possibly manufacturing the vaccine.
“You can imagine the demand for something like that will be extremely, extremely high,” Bourla told the WSJ, adding that Pfizer’s vaccine should be ready by this fall.
But the odds of developing a successful vaccine are slim, with just 6 percent of them becoming market-ready after a series of strict tests, the report said, citing a 2013 study published by PLoS ONE.
