Pfizer Stock Soars 7% Before New York Stock Market Opens
[Asia Economy Reporter Eunbyeol Kim] Pfizer of the United States and BioNTech of Germany, who are jointly developing a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine, announced on the 9th (local time) that "initial analysis results of the COVID-19 vaccine have proven an efficacy of over 90%."
According to reports from The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and The New York Times (NYT) on the same day, the two companies stated that analysis conducted on 94 patients exhibiting one or more COVID-19 symptoms demonstrated an efficacy of over 90%.
They also said, "No serious safety issues have been observed in the Phase 3 clinical trial results," and added, "If the vaccine is deemed safe, we plan to request authorization from health authorities to sell the vaccine before the end of this month."
The two companies are conducting clinical trials on 44,000 participants, and this result was calculated based on whether the vaccine was administered among the initial 94 cases infected with COVID-19 among the trial subjects. Pfizer and others did not disclose the exact detailed information that led to the 90% figure.
Pfizer is currently working to secure two months of safety data. This is to evaluate the preventive effect over a longer period. The results are expected to be released in the third week of this month, and if there are no issues with the two-month safety data, Pfizer intends to apply for approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) within this month.
Executives from both companies stated that if the approval process proceeds smoothly, they can manufacture vaccines for 15 to 20 million people by the end of the year.
Ugur Sahin, CEO of BioNTech, said, "We initially expected the vaccine efficacy to be around 60-70%, so it is extremely surprising that the effect is over 90%." He added, "This result shows that COVID-19 can be controlled," and "Ultimately, it is a victory for science."
However, experts unanimously cautioned against overly optimistic interpretations of the initial results before long-term safety and efficacy data are collected. Bloomberg News reported, "It has not been detailed how Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine performs in higher age groups and others." It is also still unknown whether the vaccine is effective when COVID-19 symptoms are severe. The Associated Press pointed out that Pfizer mentioned the prevention rate as 'over 90%' without presenting specific data in the announcement. The fact that this is not an effect published in journals such as Science but rather announced through a press release is also a reason to observe the situation further.
Meanwhile, the initial clinical trial results of Pfizer's vaccine were announced after Joe Biden was declared the winner of the U.S. presidential election. The NYT mentioned the timing of the vaccine analysis results and reported, "President Trump repeatedly mentioned that the vaccine would be available soon before the election."
President Trump tweeted shortly after Pfizer's vaccine announcement, saying, "The stock market is soaring, and the vaccine will be out soon. They say it is 90% effective. Very good news!" However, the rise in the U.S. stock market before the opening was also influenced by the news of Joe Biden's victory in the election. Twitter users commented, "The stock price is rising because President Trump lost the election."
Pfeizer's stock price surged about 7% in pre-market trading. The S&P 500 futures index rose 2%, and the Stoxx Europe 600 index surged 5.17%.
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