GROTON, Conn. — Pfizer, which has a major research and development facility in Groton, has struck a deal with the U.S. government to provide up to 600 million coronavirus vaccine doses, which will be free to the public.
The $1.95 billion agreement is the richest of the five contracts the Trump Administration has signed with pharmaceutical companies, who are working on developing vaccines.
"I am so proud that Pfizer is right here in Connecticut and taking the lead on finding a possible solution to this COVID crisis," said Gov. Ned Lamont (D-Connecticut)
Initially, the federal government would purchase 100 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine. But, the company elected not to receive federal funding for research.
"We wanted to be able to move quickly, have those fast track interactions with the regulatory agencies in the US government, but be able to be independent," said John Burkhardt, a Pfizer Senior Vice President.
Preliminary data from Pfizer's early studies indicate an excellent immune response from patients vaccinated.
"And we plan to start the large scale clinical trial before the end of July," said Burkhardt.
That will involve 20,000 to 30,000 patients.
"We hope to complete this trial and have a regulatory submission by October," Burkhardt added.
And, if all goes well, the vaccine could be available before the end of this year. But, there are plenty of unknowns.
"We don’t know if this is a two shot series that is done once in a lifetime other person," Burkhardt said. "We don’t know if the virus mutate and (we would) need a different version of the vaccine annually."
Pfizer’s coronavirus research dates back a couple of decades to the first SARS in Southeast Asia.
"And we were able to build on the excellence in chemistry and understanding of the target that was entirely applicable to SARS2, which we call Covid-19," Burkhardt noted.
Lawmakers say today's big news underscores the importance of the life sciences industry to Connecticut.
"Not too long ago, there were large companies looking to leave the state of Connecticut," said State Sen. Heather Somers (R-Groton). "We need to make sure that we support our pharmaceutical industry here."
The U.S. Government has the option to purchase 500 million additional doses from Pfizer.