Pfizer moves to allow cheaper COVID-19 pills sending shares of rivals lower
Established COVID-19 vaccine makers have come under pressure after $Pfizer(PFE.US$ and a United Nations-backed public health organization announced a licensing pact to allow generic-drugmakers to produce cheaper versions of the company’s experimental COVID-19 pill.
$Moderna(MRNA.US$ , $AstraZeneca(AZN.US$ , and Pfizer’s partner in COVID-19 vaccine development $BioNTech(BNTX.US$ have lost ~1.4%, ~3.1%, and ~1.0% in the pre-market, respectively. $Johnson & Johnson(JNJ.US$ is trading flat.
The licensing deal by Pfizer to enable wider access to its COVID-19 therapeutic follows a similar deal from the rival drugmaker $Merck & Co(MRK.US$ for its investigational pill, molnupiravir. Merck has shed ~1.0% in early trading.
The shares of early-stage developers of oral COVID-19 therapies such as $Atea Pharmaceuticals(AVIR.US$ / $ROCHE HOLDING AG(RHHBY.US$ , $Redhill Biopharma(RDHL.US$ , and $Adagio Therapeutics(ADGI.US$ are also expected to open lower.
Stocks to watch: Established manufacturers of COVID-19 antibody treatments such as $Vir Biotechnology(VIR.US$ , $Regeneron Pharmaceuticals(REGN.US$ , $Eli Lilly and Co(LLY.US$ as well as $Gilead Sciences(GILD.US$ , which produces the intravenously administered COVID-19 therapy Remdesivir.
In terms of effectiveness, $Pfizer(PFE.US$ and its rival $Merck & Co(MRK.US$ have demonstrated about 89% and ~50% effectiveness for their oral COVID-19 drugs, PAXLOVID, and molnupiravir in late-stage trials, respectively.
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Reno Gianan :
wild horse : Somehow I don’t believe a word from Pfizer.
Milenko wild horse: or the real intentions of WHO
T_shares Milenko: I don't believe a word from our gov't.
EEC6iRWd4p : This needs two stories in the same morning? Is a 1% drop by "rivals" a big deal? These anti-virals seem hyped to me. Glad if they help but the science does not wow me.
TvhXCjkODq : I guess those pills work as well as their vaccines
vYcu5FgULx : Sarcasm?
KHVgqUvpZS : Smart move by PFE, sharing them with something they don’t want. The money is in the shots and the WHO (Chinese) is not getting it, imo.