The U.S. agreed to pay $1.95 billion July 22 for up to 600 million doses of BNT162, the experimental COVID-19 vaccine Pfizer is developing with BioNTech. Pfizer is charging the U.S. $19.50 a dose for the first 100 million doses.
The drugmaker’s CEO, Albert Bourla, PhD, told Barron’s he strongly opposes the opinion some have that drugmakers should not make a profit off COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.
“Who is finding the solution? The private sector found the solution for diagnostics, and the private sector found the solution for therapeutics and is along [the] way to find more solutions for therapeutics and vaccines. So how can you say something like that? Doesn’t make sense,” Dr. Bourla said to Barron’s.
Pfizer began phase 2/3 trials for BNT162 July 27. Dr. Bourla said the drugmaker plans to dose the majority of this phase’s participants by the end of August and submit the vaccine for FDA approval in October.
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