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Pfizer and BioNTech Submitted Application for Conditional Marketing Authorization for COVID-19 Vaccine to the EMA
NEW YORK and MAINZ, GERMANY, December 1, 2020 — Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX) have submitted on Monday, November 30, 2020, a formal Application for Conditional Marketing Authorization (CMA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for their mRNA vaccine candidate, BNT162b2, against COVID-19. This submission completes the rolling review process initiated on October 6, 2020, with nonclinical data and partial Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) data, followed by emerging clinical data submitted by Pfizer and BioNTech. If EMA concludes that the benefits of the vaccine candidate outweigh its risks in protecting against COVID-19, it will recommend granting a CMA that could potentially enable use of BNT162b2 in Europe before the end of 2020. The submitted clinical data demonstrated a vaccine efficacy rate of 95% (p<0.0001) in the companies’ Phase 3 clinical study in participants without prior SARS-CoV-2 infection (first primary objective) and also in participants with and without prior SARS-CoV-2 infection (second primary objective), in each case measured from 7 days after the second dose. Efficacy was consistent across age, gender, race and ethnicity demographics, with an observed efficacy in adults age 65 and over of more than 94%. The first primary objective analysis was based on 170 confirmed cases of COVID-19. In the trial, BNT162b2 also showed an overall favorable tolerability with no safety concerns reported by the Data Monitoring Committee to date. Approximately 42% of global participants and 30% of U.S. participants in the Phase 3 study have racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds, and 41% of global and 45% of U.S. participants are 56-85 years of age. “Today’s announcement marks another key milestone in our efforts to fulfill our promise to do everything we can to address this dire crisis given the critical public health need,” said Dr. Albert Bourla, Pfizer Chairman and CEO. “We have known since the beginning of this journey that patients are waiting, and we stand ready to ship COVID-19 vaccine doses as soon as potential authorizations will allow us.” “As a company located in the heart of Europe, today’s milestone is important to us as we continue to seek to enable a worldwide supply upon potential approval of BNT162b2,” said Ugur Sahin, M.D., CEO and Co-founder of BioNTech. “We will continue to work with regulatory agencies around the world to enable the rapid distribution, should the vaccine receive the approval, contributing to the joint efforts to let the world heal and regain its normal pace of life.” The vaccine candidate will be assessed according to EMA’s normal stringent standards for quality, safety and efficacy. The BNT162b2 vaccine candidate is currently not approved for distribution anywhere in the world. In addition to submission to EMA, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.K. Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the companies have initiated rolling submissions across the globe including in Australia, Canada and Japan, and plan to submit applications to other regulatory agencies around the world. About Pfizer: Breakthroughs That Change Patients’ Lives Pfizer Disclosure Notice This release contains forward-looking information about Pfizer’s efforts to combat COVID-19, the collaboration between BioNTech and Pfizer to develop a potential COVID-19 vaccine, the BNT162 mRNA vaccine program and modRNA candidate BNT162b2 (including qualitative assessments of available data, potential benefits, expectations for clinical trials, the submission of a formal application for Conditional Marketing Authorization to the EMA and other regulatory submissions, the anticipated timing of regulatory submissions, regulatory approval or authorization and anticipated manufacturing, distribution and supply), that involves substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including the ability to meet anticipated clinical endpoints, commencement and/or completion dates for clinical trials, regulatory submission dates, regulatory approval dates and/or launch dates, as well as risks associated with clinical data (including the Phase 3 data), including the possibility of unfavorable new preclinical or clinical trial data and further analyses of existing preclinical or clinical trial data; the ability to produce comparable clinical or other results, including the rate of vaccine effectiveness and safety and tolerability profile observed to date, in additional analyses of the Phase 3 trial or in larger, more diverse populations upon commercialization; the risk that clinical trial data are subject to differing interpretations and assessments, including during the peer review/publication process, in the scientific community generally, and by regulatory authorities; whether and when data from the BNT162 mRNA vaccine program will be published in scientific journal publications and, if so, when and with what modifications; whether regulatory authorities will be satisfied with the design of and results from these and any future preclinical and clinical studies; whether and when any other biologics license and/or emergency use authorization applications may be filed in any jurisdictions for BNT162b2 or any other potential vaccine candidates; whether and when any applications that may be pending or filed may be approved by regulatory authorities, which will depend on myriad factors, including making a determination as to whether the vaccine candidate’s benefits outweigh its known risks and determination of the vaccine candidate’s efficacy and, if approved, whether it will be commercially successful; decisions by regulatory authorities impacting labeling, manufacturing processes, safety and/or other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of a vaccine, including development of products or therapies by other companies; disruptions in the relationships between us and our collaboration partners or third-party suppliers; risks related to the availability of raw materials to manufacture a vaccine; challenges related to our vaccine candidate’s ultra-low temperature formulation and attendant storage, distribution and administration requirements, including risks related to handling after delivery by Pfizer; the risk that we may not be able to successfully develop non-frozen formulations; the risk that we may not be able to create or scale up manufacturing capacity on a timely basis or have access to logistics or supply channels commensurate with global demand for any potential approved vaccine, which would negatively impact our ability to supply the estimated numbers of doses of our vaccine candidate within the projected time periods indicated; whether and when additional supply agreements will be reached; uncertainties regarding the ability to obtain recommendations from vaccine technical committees and other public health authorities and uncertainties regarding the commercial impact of any such recommendations; uncertainties regarding the impact of COVID-19 on Pfizer’s business, operations and financial results; and competitive developments. A further description of risks and uncertainties can be found in Pfizer’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 and in its subsequent reports on Form 10-Q, including in the sections thereof captioned “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Information and Factors That May Affect Future Results”, as well as in its subsequent reports on Form 8-K, all of which are filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov and www.pfizer.com. About BioNTech BioNTech Forward-looking Statements Pfizer Contacts: Media Relations Investor Relations BioNTech Contacts: Media Relations Investor Relations
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