US pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) and German biotechnology company BioNTech SE (Nasdaq:BNTX) have commenced the start in Japan of combined Phase I and Phase II clinical trials of their mRNA vaccine candidate against COVID-19, Reuters news agency reported on Tuesday.
In a statement, the companies said that this study will recruit 160 people aged from 20 to 85. They had previously agreed to supply Japan with 120 million doses of their experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the first half of 2021.
According to Pfizer, which is developing the vaccine with German partner BioNTech, it may confirm if the vaccine is effective as soon as October 2020, but also needs safety data from a global trial of 44,000 people that will not be available until November 2020.
Reportedly, Japan has pledged to secure enough COVID-19 vaccine supply for its entire population by the middle of 2021. In addition to Pfizer, it has struck deals on supplies with AstraZeneca Plc and other overseas makers of vaccine candidates.
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