Pfizer Soars as Vaccine Prevents 90% of Covid Cases in Study

A vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE protects most people from Covid-19, according to a study whose early findings sent stock prices surging and were hailed by the top U.S. infectious-disease specialist as “extraordinary.”

The shot prevented more than 90% of symptomatic infections in the trial of tens of thousands of volunteers, the most encouraging scientific advance so far in the battle against the coronavirus. While the results are preliminary, they may pave the way for the companies to seek an emergency-use authorization if further research shows the vaccine is also safe.

Pfizer shares rose as much as 15% and were trading 8.8% higher at 3:14 p.m. in New York, while BioNTech American depositary receipts surged as much as 24%. The news fueled a global rally that added more than $1.8 trillion to the value of the MSCI All Country World Index.

Encouraging Vaccine Results Could Mean There’s a Tool to Control Virus.

The findings are based on an interim analysis conducted after 94 of the trial’s 43,538 participants, split between those who got a placebo and those who were vaccinated, contracted Covid-19. The trial will continue until 164 cases have occurred. If the data hold up and a key safety readout Pfizer expects in about a week also looks good, it could mean that the world has a vital new tool to control a pandemic that has killed more than 1.2 million people worldwide.

Nov 9, 2020

https://www.bloomberg.com/