Pfizer, BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on track for regulatory review in October

Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE said the Covid-19 vaccine they are jointly developing is on track to be submitted for regulatory review as early as October, as they released additional data from an early-stage study.

The companies said the vaccine was well tolerated with mild to moderate fever in fewer than 20% of the participants. The companies are continuing to analyze data from the Phase 1 trials in the U.S. and Germany, they said in a statement.

The confirmation of their October goal, first announced last month, helped lift S&P 500 futures early on Friday as part of a drumbeat of positive news on inoculation efforts that have the potential to end the threat of damaging lockdowns.

The timeline would make the vaccine one of the fastest-moving in the world. Some analysts expect a vaccine to be approved for use by November in the U.S., a move which may give President Donald Trump a new foothold in the election.

Pfizer and BioNTech last month clinched a $2 billion deal to supply an initial 100 million doses of the vaccine to the U.S. Governments around the world are looking to lock up supplies of still-experimental candidates in hope of stabilizing local economies and stopping spread of the virus that’s taken almost 800,000 lives globally.