Pfizer, BioNTech Get $1.95 Billion Covid-19 Vaccine Order From U.S. Government - The Wall Street Journal

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine development program is evaluating at least four experimental vaccines.
Photo: pfizer/Reuters

By Chris Wack

July 22, 2020 7:43 am ET

Pfizer Inc. PFE 2.86% and BioNTech SE BNTX 5.68% said Wednesday they have signed a $1.95 billion agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Defense Department to secure hundreds of millions of doses of a coronavirus vaccine, which Americans would receive free.

Under the agreement, the U.S. government would receive 100 million doses of BNT162, the Covid-19 vaccine candidate jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, and can acquire up to 500 million additional doses. Pfizer would make the vaccine.

The BNT162 program is based on BioNTech’s proprietary mRNA technology and supported by Pfizer’s global vaccine development and manufacturing capabilities. The BNT162 vaccine candidates are undergoing clinical studies and aren’t currently approved for distribution anywhere in the world.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine development program is evaluating at least four experimental vaccines. If the studies are successful, Pfizer and BioNTech expect to seek emergency use authorization or some form of regulatory approval as early as October.

The companies currently expect to manufacture globally up to 100 million doses by the end of 2020 and potentially more than 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021, subject to final dose selection from their clinical trial.