pfizer vaccine trial Archives

A major announcement from the United States on November 9 has completely lifted our hopes and spirits! Since March, scientists around the world have been working tirelessly towards creating an effective vaccine against the novel coronavirus. And now, drugmakers Pfizer and BioNTech have come out with a very positive result. The vaccine developed by the two companies was found to be 90% effective in preventing Covid-19 infections in ongoing Phase-3 trials.

We saw that the announcement made a ripple effect across the world, with the stock markets reaching new highs. Let us dive deep into the details of the vaccine, and recent developments surrounding it.

Pfizer’s Covid-19 Vaccine Trials
What Happened After the Announcement?
Will the Vaccine be Available in India?
Will a Vaccine Solve All Our Problems?

Pfizer’s Covid-19 Vaccine Trials

US-based Pfizer Inc and Germany-based biotechnology firm BioNTech had begun their collaboration in March 2020. Their partnership is aimed at co-developing and distributing a potential Covid-19 vaccine. Here are some important facts about the recent Phase-3 trials of the potential vaccine:

The Phase-3 trials of the vaccine involved 44,000 participants in six countries. Half of them were administered with the vaccine, and the other half were given a placebo- a pill with no effect (like a sugar pill). A participant would not know if he got the vaccine or the placebo, thus helping to analyse the psychological effects.

As per Pfizer’s interim analysis, the vaccine is 90% effective in preventing Covid-19 in participants who had no prior history of a SARS Cov-2 infection. However, Pfizer had not disclosed how many participants from the total number were used to formulate this interim analysis. In this sample, it is not clear how many had received the vaccine, and how many had received the placebo.

Pfizer has stated that protection against the virus is achieved 28 days after the injection of the vaccine.

The announcement made on November 9 offers the first compelling evidence that a vaccine can prevent Covid-19. Pfizer’s report from Phase-3 trials is being welcomed by other scientists around the world. It also puts Pfizer-BioNtech ahead of the other vaccine makers.

Pfizer is planning to approach the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for emergency authorization of the vaccine later this month. Meanwhile, the Phase-3 trials will continue until there are 164 Covid-19 cases among the volunteers. This final analysis will confirm the actual percentage of effectiveness of the vaccine.

An important factor to be noted is that experts in the field are yet to receive an answer on how much protection the vaccine offers, and for how long it would last. So, we can say that this announcement is being taken with “cautious optimism”.

What Happened After the Announcement?

Ever since Pfizer made the statement on Nov 9, we can see that important decisions are being taken at a very rapid pace. According to a statement from Pfizer, the company has plans to globally produce up to 50 million vaccine doses in 2020, and up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021.

Reports have also stated that many countries have already made deals with the drugmaker and have plans to hoard the vaccine. The US Government has signed a $1.95 billion (~Rs 14,474 crore) deal with Pfizer to buy 100 million doses. According to Alex Azar, the US Health Secretary, their government would begin vaccinating Americans in December. This is only possible if Pfizer submits the initial positive data from its vaccine trials to the USFDA, as soon as possible.

On the day of the announcement, Pfizer CEO Albert Bouria made a very calculated move. As per a regulatory filing, 1,32,508 Pfizer shares were sold by the CEO at a price of $42 per share. This means that he had sold $5.6 million of his shares in the company. This has raised many eyebrows as almost 62% of his entire stock in the company was sold right at the peak. Several questions have also been raised regarding the effectiveness of the vaccine after this high profile stake sale.

Will the Vaccine be Available in India?

Our Indian Government is now in discussions with Pfizer to make the vaccine available in our country. So far, the American firm does not have a distribution pact with any Indian company. It has been reported that India would soon sign an agreement with the US drugmaker. However, India has some significant hurdles to overcome to ensure that we can obtain Pfizer’s vaccine.

In a statement made on November 10, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, the Managing Director of Biocon, stated that the Pfizer vaccine is unlikely to make its way to India. The reason that she had put forth was that the vaccine requires an ultra-cold chain of minus 70 degrees. This means that the vaccine has to be stored and transported in an ultra-cold facility. Currently, India does not have the necessary logistical support to conduct such a highly specialized task. The cost of the vaccine in India may also become very high due to this reason.

Around the same time, we had also received some positive statements from Snowman Logistics. The company has found an opportunity to improve its business, by creating a super-cold storage facility for Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine. Sunil Nair, the CEO of Snowman Logistics, has stated that they will come up with a technology to address these requirements. On November 10, the share price of Snowman Logistics saw a surge of 14% in an intraday movement to Rs 40.95.

Last month, Apollo Hospitals had announced that they are ready to administer 10 lakh doses of the Covid-19 vaccine per day. Today, the company’s CEO, Sunita Reddy, has said that they have the cold storage chain ready for the Pfizer vaccine.

Will Vaccine Solve All Our Problems?

Scientists have yet again proved to become a worthy opponent in the fight against a deadly virus. We have finally received an amazing update from the vaccine makers. A very effective vaccine would hopefully be available all over the world soon. The news from Pfizer had also created a very positive sentiment around the global markets. We also saw our stock market indices reaching new highs.

Our Indian companies are also preparing to create a possible technology to store and transport the vaccine. All the issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic would soon be countered. Although a vaccine would not immediately turn around the world economies, it gives hope that there will be a brighter future going ahead. As Indians and as human beings, in the face of a problem such as Covid, we will come back much stronger. The economic conditions could become more stable, and more importantly, things are finally looking very optimistic!

Let us look forward to the latest updates surrounding the vaccines, including many others from India and around the world. We must also be aware of how our country is planning to further gear up to make the vaccine available for all citizens. And as intelligent stock market participants, identify which all sectors will benefit from the announcement of a vaccine.

1. Joe Biden Wins U.S. Presidency After Bitter Contest With Trump

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. has defeated Donald Trump to become the 46th U.S. president, unseating the incumbent with a pledge to unify and mend a nation reeling from a worsening pandemic, faltering economy and deep political divisions. Biden’s victory came after the Associated Press, CNN and NBC showed him winning Pennsylvania and Nevada and gaining more than the 270 Electoral College votes needed to secure the presidency. Biden was at home with his family when he learned he’d won the election, a campaign aide said.

2. Stocks Surge to All-Time High on Vaccine Progress

The clearest sign yet of progress on a Covid-19 vaccine is fueling a rally across global stock markets. The strongest gains in the market were among small-cap stocks, which have been hit hard by the economic toll of lockdowns. Futures on the Russell 2000 Index of small-cap stocks jumped 7% and S&P 500 contracts rose 4.2%. Nasdaq 100 Index futures pared gains, but were still up 0.5%.

Futures on the S&P 500 Index surged 3.4% as of early morning NY time.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index surged 4.5%.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 1.1%.

The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 1.7%.

3. Pfizer’s Covid Vaccine Prevents 90% of Infections in Study

The Covid-19 vaccine being developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE prevented more than 90% of infections in a study of tens of thousands of volunteers, the most encouraging scientific advance so far in the battle against the coronavirus. Eight months into the worst pandemic in a century, the preliminary results pave the way for the companies to seek an emergency-use authorization from regulators if further research shows the shot is also safe.

4. Gold set for best week since July as Biden closes in on victory

Gold headed for the biggest weekly gain since July and copper rose as Joe Biden tightened his grip on the race for the White House, while investors also weighed prospects for further Federal Reserve stimulus under the Biden presidency. Gold bullion broke out of a narrow trading range seen over the past month as uncertainty over the election and renewed stimulus hopes boosted demand for the haven.

5. China’s Yuan Extends Best Week Since 2017 on Biden’s Victory

The yuan extended its recent rally as the dollar weakened following Joe Biden’s presidential victory in the U.S. The offshore yuan was 0.37% stronger in Hong Kong, following last week’s 1.6% surge that was the biggest gain since January 2017. The currency has been on a rise since the start of June as China’s economy rebounded, and China’s currency has rallied to a more than two-year high.

6. Global Stocks Surge to Record High on Biden Presidency

Global equities jumped to a record high amid optimism about the outlook for risk assets during a Joe Biden presidency. The MSCI All-Country World Index rose as much as 0.5% on Monday, surpassing its previous highs. After surging nearly 8% last week in the biggest rally since April, global stocks on Monday extended their gains after Biden was declared the winner of the U.S. election over the weekend. Biden in his victory speech promised swift action against the pandemic and an orderly transfer of power, though President Donald Trump is weighing legal challenges and has so far refused to concede.

7. EU Gives Green Light to Trigger $4 Billion Tariff Strike on U.S.

European Union trade ministers gave the go-ahead for EU tariffs on $4 billion (29,500 cr) of American goods in retaliation over illegal aid to Boeing, seeking to prod the U.S. to scrap its duties prompted by unlawful subsidies to Airbus. The green light paves the way for the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm in Brussels, to trigger the import levies on Monday. U.S. aircraft-related products as well as other goods ranging from spirits and nuts to handbags and chemicals were included on the bloc’s planned target list last month. The imminent tariff strike is meant to give the EU more leverage in pushing for a truce that has been elusive with the U.S. President Donald Trump, who will remain in office until Jan. 20. The tit-for-tat move may make it easier for President-elect Joe Biden to embrace longstanding European calls to settle the transatlantic dispute over aircraft aid at the negotiating table.

8. SoftBank Posts Vision Fund’s Record Profit

Masayoshi Son is making his case for SoftBank’s turnaround. The Japanese conglomerate reported a record $7.6 billion (INR 56,000 cr) profit in its Vision Fund business for the three months ended Sept. 30, a sign the fund’s investments in startups are paying off amid a broad rally in technology stocks. One Chinese startup quadrupled SoftBank’s money after going public in August.

9. French bank Societe Generale to cut 640 jobs in France, no forced redundancies

French bank Societe Generale said on Monday it planned a net reduction of about 640 positions in France but said there would be no forced redundancies. The bank said the plan would concern market activities and associated functions and would help reduce costs by about $535 million (INR 4000 cr) by 2022-2023. French business newspaper Les Echos reported on Sunday that the cuts would be mainly in the investment banking division.

10. Oil-Rich Abu Dhabi to Start Trading Crude Futures From March

Oil-rich Abu Dhabi will open a commodities exchange in March to rival those of Middle Eastern neighbours, letting investors trade its crude using futures contracts for the first time. The ICE Futures Abu Dhabi exchange will open on March 29 and offer contracts based on the emirate’s flagship Murban crude grade, pending regulatory approvals. The Atlanta-based operator of trading and clearing platforms is setting up the exchange with government producer Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. and other oil suppliers. Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates — OPEC’s third-largest producer — and it holds most of the UAE’s oil. Murban crude, pumped from onshore fields, comprises more than half of the country’s output, now at around 2.6 million barrels daily.