Under material transfer and collaboration agreement, the companies will co-develop and supply potential mRNA-based coronavirus vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 infection. The vaccine will not be supplied in China, as part of the deal.
Pfizer worldwide research, development and medical president and chief scientific officer Mikael Dolsten said: “We believe that by pairing Pfizer’s development, regulatory and commercial capabilities with BioNTech’s mRNA vaccine technology and expertise as one of the industry leaders, we are reinforcing our commitment to do everything we can to combat this escalating pandemic, as quickly as possible.”
The partnership plans to advance the development of BNT162 first-in-class COVID-19 mRNA vaccine candidate, which is expected to enter clinical testing by the end of April this year.
Pfizer and BioNTech intend to use multiple research and development sites from both companies, including in the US and Germany, to conduct the activities determined by the collaboration agreement.
According to Pfizer, the firms will finalise details of the agreement regarding financial terms, and all activities linked development, manufacturing and potential commercialisation in the coming weeks.
BioNTech co-founder and CEO Ugur Sahin said: “This is a global pandemic, which requires a global effort. In joining forces with our partner Pfizer, we believe we can accelerate our effort to bring a COVID-19 vaccine to people around the world who need it.”
Recently, Pfizer and EMD Serono have decided to scrap the phase 3 JAVELIN Head and Neck 100 study as it was found that avelumab in addition to chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is unlikely to deliver the desired result.
The JAVELIN Head and Neck 100 trial is not expected to yield a statistically significant improvement in the progression-free survival (PFS) based on a pre-planned interim analysis with the investigational combination.