Pfizer and BionTech Announce Agreement with U.S. Government for Up to 600 million doses of COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate

July 24, 2020

On July 22, Pfizer and BioNTech announced the execution of an agreement with the HHS and DOD to meet the U.S. government’s Operation Warp Speed program goal to begin delivering 300 million doses of a vaccine for COVID-19 in 2021. Under the agreement, the U.S. government will receive 100 million doses of BNT162, the COVID-19 vaccine candidate jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, after Pfizer successfully manufactures and obtains approval or emergency use authorization from the FDA.

Key points to note include: 

• An initial order by the federal government of 100 million doses for $1.95 billion, with the opportunity to acquire up to 500 million additional doses
• Americans to receive the vaccine for free consistent with the government’s commitment for free access for COVID-19 vaccines
• Pfizer and BioNTech remain on track to begin an anticipated Phase 2b/3 safety and efficacy trial later this month, with the expectation to seek regulatory review as early as October 2020
• Manufacture globally up to 100 million doses by the end of 2020, and potentially more than 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021