Pfizer targets end of next month for COVID-19 vaccine update

Pfizer has already manufactured hundreds of thousands of doses of the vaccine candidate, including at a plant in Belgium, Bourla added. The U.S. drugmaker is in the race to come up with a vaccine with its partner, Germany's BioNTech. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has asked state public health officials to prepare to distribute a potential coronavirus vaccine to high-risk groups as soon as late October, documents published by the agency showed on Wednesday.

U.S. drugmaker Pfizer said it should know by the end of October whether a COVID-19 vaccine it is developing is successful, and will submit it for approval immediately if that is the case.

Pfizer has enrolled 23,000 patients in vaccine tests as of Wednesday, it's Chief Executive Albert Bourla said in an online briefing sponsored by drug industry group International Federation of Pharmaceuticals Manufacturers & Association. Pfizer has already manufactured hundreds of thousands of doses of the vaccine candidate, including at a plant in Belgium, Bourla added. The U.S. drugmaker is in the race to come up with a vaccine with its partner, Germany's BioNTech.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has asked state public health officials to prepare to distribute a potential coronavirus vaccine to high-risk groups as soon as late October, documents published by the agency showed on Wednesday. Companies including Moderna Inc, AstraZeneca Plc, and Pfizer are seen as leading the race to develop a safe and effective vaccine for the respiratory illness.