GSK - Is Now a Good Time to Buy Pfizer Stock?
Investors were in a frenzy Monday morning after Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) announced early positive results from a potential coronavirus vaccine it is studying in partnership with BioNTech in a phase 1/2 trial held in Germany. Pfizer is collaborating with BioNTech on four potential vaccines in a program called BNT162, which includes one of its most advanced candidates, BNT162b1.
Preliminary data from the German study found that subjects experienced varying degrees of CD4-positive T-cell responses to BNT162b1, while 29 of 36 participants had CD8-positive T-cell responses to the receptor-binding domain of SARS-CoV-2. (Both CD4 and CD8 are types of white blood cells; the former are on the forefront of battling infections in your body, while the latter can be fatal to cancer cells and other attackers.) Shares of Pfizer were up nearly 4% in the early morning trading hours of July 20.
Pfizer certainly isn't the only cook in the kitchen vying to win the coronavirus vaccine race. AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) also reported on Monday that its coronavirus vaccine candidate with Oxford University produced a positive immune response in subjects during early stage human trials. Companies like Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: INO), Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), and Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX) are just a few examples of other industry giants going head-to-head with Pfizer to get an effective vaccine to market.