Pharma giants Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) saw their stock rise in Thursday’s session.
Pfizer Inc and BioNTech said on Thursday they had asked U.S. regulators to approve emergency use of their COVID-19 vaccine for children aged from five to 11 while Moderna said it plans to invest $500m to build a state-of-the-art mRNA facility in Africa.
Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)
Moderna plans to invest $500m to build a state-of-the-art mRNA facility in Africa, capable of producing up to 500 million doses of vaccines in the continent each year.
The biotech is yet to select a country and site for the factory, but says it is expected to include drug substance manufacturing for its Covid-19 and other mRNA vaccines, with the opportunity for bottling and packaging capabilities on-site.
The announcement comes amid a fierce patent waiver debate between pharma companies, governments, and charities. The World Health Organization (WHO) and rights groups like Amnesty have said vaccine makers should share doses and technology with low-income countries, which have received disproportionately low supplies of Covid-19 vaccines compared to wealthier nations.
In other Moderna news, both Denmark and Sweden paused their use of the Moderna vaccine on Wednesday, citing reports of possible rare cardiovascular side effects. The Swedish health agency said it would pause using the shot for people born in 1991 and later, as data pointed to an increase of myocarditis and pericarditis among youths and young adults that had been vaccinated.
Shares of Moderna were up 2.29%.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)
Pfizer asked the U.S. government Thursday to allow the use of its COVID-19 vaccine in children ages five to 11 – and if regulators agree, shots could begin within a matter of weeks.
Coronavirus infections have soared in children, hitting their highest point in early September, according to data from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The vaccine, which is already authorized in teens aged 12 to 15 and fully approved for ages 16 and up, induced a strong immune response in the target age group in a 2,268-participant clinical trial, the companies said on Sept. 20.
Shares of Pfizer were up 1.64%.
AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)
Much like Moderna, AstraZeneca had already seen its Covid-19 vaccine candidate halted in Sweden (and Latvia) back in March, after concerns of blood clots. Back in May, the Canadian province of Ontario also paused the administration of AstraZeneca’s vaccine due to the risk of a rare blood-clotting syndrome linked to the shot—only to resume administration of it, but only for second doses.
On a somewhat odd, but positive note, AstraZeneca doses were delivered to Antarctica on Thursday, as announced by the BBC to immunize 23 staff members.
Shares of AZN were up 0.85% Thursday.