Pfizer says coronavirus vaccine could be ready for emergency use by fall

A lot of good news coming out about promising treatments and vaccine for coronavirus. Early this month, we wrote about Pfizer after the pharmaceutical giant said it has found a treatment for coronavirus that decreases viral replication. Now, Pfizer says coronavirus vaccine could be ready for emergency use by fall.

Joining the Oxford University project on the very fast track, Pfizer says it too may have a coronavirus vaccine ready for emergency use in the fall. The pharmaceutical firm joins various groups pushing to have vaccines ready for emergency use in the fall, though hurdles remain.

According to a report from Wall Street Journal, the experimental vaccine could begin clinical testing in the U.S. as early as next week, and Pfizer could have results from the study next month. The testing of a vaccine, which has already started in Germany, could start in the U.S. as early as next week if health regulators sign off, Pfizer’s Mr. Bourla said. Results from the study could come as early as next month, he said.

The company said it will begin testing of its experimental vaccine in the U.S. as early as next week. On Monday, Oxford University researchers said their vaccine candidate could be available for emergency use as early as September if it passes muster in studies, while biotech Moderna Inc. said it was preparing to enter its vaccine into the second phase of human testing.

Johnson & Johnson said earlier this month it shaved months off the usual timelines for developing a vaccine, and expects to start human testing of a coronavirus candidate as soon as September, with possible availability on an emergency-use basis in early 2021.

In earlier report, Pfizer research-and-development chief Mikael Dolsten said the potential treatment has so far shown positive signs in preclinical work. The drug seeks to “counter the expansion of the virus,” Dolsten said. Pfizer had initially planned to enter clinical trials for a COVID-19 drug by the end of the year, according to Dolsten. Now, it hopes to start those trials in the third quarter, meaning “just a few months from today,” he said.