Pfizer Shares Explode as Company’s COVID-19 Vaccine Proves 90% Effective

Shares of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer were soaring on Monday to a new 52-week high after the company said its COVID-19 vaccine has proven 90% effective in first results from a Phase 3 clinical trial.

The stock hit $41.99 during intra-day trading on Monday before pulling back and giving back some of the gains.

The COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech has shown to be effective blocking infection in 90 percent of participants in its Phase 3 clinical trial, the two companies announced.

This was based on data analyzed by an external, independent committee assigned to check the results of the trial, and reflects only early results from the trial, and not the final verified result.

Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine candidate is an mRNA-based vaccine and offers some advantages in the pace of development and potential efficacy. The results from the test were based on an equable case total of 94 confirmed COVID-19 cases among study participants.

The Phase 3 trial conducted by the companies included 43,358 participants, and Pfizer reports “no serious safety concerns have been observed” thus far next to the positive prevention rate. Going by this early data, individuals who receive the vaccine are protected at 28 days after first dose, and the vaccine uses a two-dose process.

“Today is a great day for science and humanity. The first set of results from our Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial provides the initial evidence of our vaccine’s ability to prevent COVID-19,” said Dr. Albert Bourla, Pfizer Chairman and CEO.

“We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development program at a time when the world needs it most with infection rates setting new records, hospitals nearing over-capacity and economies struggling to reopen. With today’s news, 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. We look forward to sharing additional efficacy and safety data generated from thousands of participants in the coming weeks.”

“I want to thank the thousands of people who volunteered to participate in the clinical trial, our academic collaborators and investigators at the study sites, and our colleagues and collaborators around the world who are dedicating their time to this crucial endeavor,” added Bourla. “We could not have come this far without the tremendous commitment of everyone involved.”

“The first interim analysis of our global Phase 3 study provides evidence that a vaccine may effectively prevent COVID-19. This is a victory for innovation, science and a global collaborative effort,” said Prof. Ugur Sahin, BioNTech co-founder and CEO.

“When we embarked on this journey 10 months ago this is what we aspired to achieve. Especially today, while we are all in the midst of a second wave and many of us in lockdown, we appreciate even more how important this milestone is on our path towards ending this pandemic and for all of us to regain a sense of normality. We will continue to collect further data as the trial continues to enroll for a final analysis planned when a total of 164 confirmed COVID-19 cases have accrued. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to make this important achievement possible.”

Full data from this trial will still have to undergo peer-review by other researchers and scientific publications.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.