Pfizer Says U.S. Trial for COVID-19 Vaccine Could Begin Next Week

Pfizer said it will begin a U.S. clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate as early as next week.

Pfizer and BioNTech have already dosed the first cohort of patients in a phase 1/2 trial of the potential vaccine in Germany.

Twelve participants were dosed with BNT162 since dosing began on April 23. Approximately 200 healthy subjects will be assessed to determine the vaccine’s safety and the patients’ immune response as well as the optimal dose for further studies.

Participants with a higher risk of severe COVID-19 infection will be included later in the study.

Mikael Dolsten, the company’s chief scientific officer, said a vaccine could be ready for emergency use or accelerated approval by the fall.

Pfizer plans to manufacture millions of doses of the vaccine by the end of the year, and hundreds of millions of doses next year.

BioNTech is in a separate collaboration with Fosun Pharma to commercialize the vaccine in China. — Jordan Williams