Pfizer Inc. announced that today Pfizer’s Chief Scientific Officer Mikael Dolsten participated in a meeting with other pharmaceutical companies about various ways to develop vaccines and therapeutics for COVID-19 held at the White House.
Pfizer was pleased to have been part of the important meeting convened by the President, given the company’s leading research expertise, manufacturing capability and capacity, and regulatory experience, to help combat the virus.
The company has recently completed a preliminary assessment of certain antiviral compounds that were previously in development and that inhibited the replication of coronaviruses similar to the one causing COVID-19 in cultured cells. Pfizer is engaging with a third party to screen these compounds under an accelerated timeline and currently expects to have the results back by the end of March. Upon completion of such screening, the company could be in a position to move forward with development depending on the results. Toxicology studies would then need to be completed prior to any clinical development, but if successful, Pfizer hopes to be in the clinic by no later than the end of 2020.
“At Pfizer, we believe the best approach to address COVID-19 is to bring together the resources and know-how from across the pharmaceutical industry to rapidly develop and deliver vaccines and therapeutics,” said Mikael Dolsten, Chief Scientific Officer at Pfizer. “We are happy to volunteer our expertise and resources to aid the development and delivery of possible solutions.”