Sector News

Pfizer to test COVID pill in children as vaccinations in US plateau

March 13, 2022
Life sciences

As the U.S. and the world move toward a less restrictive future living with COVID-19, treatment is likely to play a large role. A new Biden administration initiative aims to create locations where people could get tested for the virus, then be assessed by a healthcare provider and given a prescription for an antiviral medicine such as Pfizer’s Paxlovid.

Wider availability of treatments will also be critical as vaccinations plateau. After an initial spike when Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine became available for children as young as 5 last fall, vaccination rates began to slow. Only about 26% of children between the ages of 5 and 11 are now fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Children younger than 5 so far have no options for vaccination. Pfizer and partner BioNTech found that their initial two-dose vaccine for that age group wasn’t effective enough and began testing a third dose. The companies briefly intended to try to win approval for the first two doses while continuing research but gave up on that plan last month.

At the same time, opponents of vaccination are gaining ground in some places. Florida’s health officials recently recommended that healthy children not get vaccinated against COVID-19, contradicting CDC guidance and research that shows the shots are safe and effective.

Pfizer has been working to expand production of Paxlovid to meet anticipated demand. The company expects the pill to bring in sales of $22 billion this year, a figure that would put it among the world’s top-selling medicines, perhaps second only to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. Pfizer last month estimated that the vaccine’s revenue would reach $32 billion this year. READ MORE

By Kristin Jensen

Source: biopharmadive.com

comments closed

Related News

March 24, 2024

Johnson Matthey to sell its Medical Devices business for $700 million

Life sciences

Johnson Matthey Plc (JM; London) announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell 100% of its Medical Device Components business (MDC) to Montagu Private Equity (Montagu) for cash consideration of US$700 million (£550 million) on a cash free debt free basis.

March 24, 2024

Lonza acquires biologics manufacturing plant in California from Roche

Life sciences

Lonza AG (Basel, Switzerland) announced it has signed an agreement to acquire the Genentech large-scale biologics manufacturing site in Vacaville, Calif. from Roche (Basel, Switzerland) for $1.2 billion. The acquisition will significantly increase Lonza’s large-scale biologics manufacturing capacity.

March 24, 2024

Roquette to acquire IFF Pharma Solutions to boost global excipient presence

Life sciences

Roquette plans to acquire International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) Pharma Solutions for an enterprise value of up to €2.85 billion (US$3.09 billion). With the acquisition set to close in the first half of 2025, the plant-based ingredient and pharmaceutical excipients supplier aims to reinforce its position in the pharmaceutical industry.

How can we help you?

We're easy to reach