COVID-19 Vaccine Update – Pfizer Inc. Submits an EUA

Pfizer Inc. Goes to the FDA

Pfizer Inc. made its application for emergency use of it’s clinically trialed COVID-19 vaccine.

Running ahead of the rest of the pharmas, a 95% efficacy rate from 3^rd phase trials and safety data-enabled Pfizer Inc. to make its submission today.

The emergency user authorization (“EUA”) submission means that a viable vaccine could be distributable before the end of the year.

Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech expect the FDA to deliver on a EUA request before the end of this year. Prior to last week’s phase 3 clinical trial results, experts had anticipated a viable vaccine by late Q1 of next year.

According to Reuters, the FDA Advisory Committee has made tentative plans to meet on 8-10^th December to deliberate on the vaccine. That means that Moderna Inc.’s vaccine could form part of the discussion and approval process.

The Market Response

Riskier assets found support in response to today’s news.

At the time of writing, BioNTech was up by 7.92%. Coming out ahead in the race to an effective and mass-producible vaccine is a huge win.

Pfizer Inc. will likely see more muted gains with Moderna Inc. in the wings, however. From a European perspective, BioNTech now sits in the best position to bring an end to the COVID-19 pandemic across Europe.

In spite of the positive vaccine news, however, the EUR remained in the red. At the time of writing, the EUR was down by 0.02% to $1.18727.

With the EU in the grips of a 2^nd wave pandemic, the next piece of the jigsaw is production capacity and logistics.

It remains a 2-horse race for now and, while Pfizer Inc. has submitted its EUA first, Moderna Inc.’s vaccine is far more transport friendly.

All this means that the markets will still need to take a side on who will be able to support a worldwide inoculation.