Pfizer and BioNTech Granted FDA Fast Track Designation for Two Investigational mRNA-based Vaccine Candidates Against SARS-CoV-2

Anticipated large, global Phase 2b/3 safety and efficacy study may begin as early as July 2020

NEW YORK and MAINZ, Germany, July 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX, “BioNTech”) today announced that two of the companies’ four investigational vaccine candidates from their BNT162 mRNA-based vaccine program (BNT162b1 and BNT162b2) being developed to help protect against SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), received Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). BNT162b1 and BNT162b2 are the two most advanced vaccine candidates in the BNT162 program currently being evaluated in ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical studies in the United States and Germany.

Fast Track is a process designed to facilitate the development, and expedite the review, of new drugs and vaccines that are intended to treat or prevent serious conditions that have the potential to address an unmet medical need.ⁱ This designation was granted based on preliminary data from Phase 1/2 studies that are currently ongoing in the United States and Germany as well as animal immunogenicity studies. The companies released early data from the ongoing U.S. Phase 1/2 study for the product candidate BNT162b1 on July 1, 2020. The manuscript is available on the online preprint server medRxiv and is concurrently undergoing scientific peer-review for potential publication. Early data from the German trial of BNT162b1 are expected to be released in July.

The BNT162 program is evaluating at least four experimental vaccines, each of which represent a unique combination of messenger RNA (mRNA) format and target antigen. BNT162b1 and BNT162b2 are both nucleoside-modified RNAs, formulated in lipid nanoparticles. BNT162b1 encodes an optimized SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) antigen, while BNT162b2 encodes an optimized SARS-CoV-2 full-length spike protein antigen.

“The FDA’s decision to grant these two COVID-19 vaccine candidates Fast Track designation signifies an important milestone in the efforts to develop a safe and effective vaccine against SARS-CoV-2,” said Peter Honig, Senior Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs, Pfizer. “We look forward to continue working closely with the FDA throughout the clinical development of this program, Project Lightspeed, to evaluate the safety and efficacy of these vaccine candidates.”