We’ve seen that in the last 11 days Pfizer And Modern Without question, there are clear leaders in the coronavirus vaccine race. Last week, Pfizer and his allies Biotech Their COVID-19 vaccine declared great efficacy results for candidate BNT162b2. Earlier this week, Moderna followed up with its own fantastic efficacy results for the experimental coronavirus vaccine MRNA-1273.
These companies are soon on track to file for U.S. Emergency Use Authorization (EU). And their chances of winning the EUA look pretty good. Both BNT162B2 and MRNA-1273A may be available for the first wave of Americans by the end of the year.
While Pfizer and Moderna are now leaders, that doesn’t mean they will hold the position indefinitely. Here is a coronavirus vaccine maker that could blow both of these drug makers into the past.
Running backwards
The two companies behind Pfizer and Moderna are running close by. AstraZeneca (Nasdaq: AZN) And Of Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) U.S. Is also evaluating coronavirus vaccine candidates in late-stage testing
AstraZeneca expects to announce its end-stage results by the end of 2020. Large drug manufacturers may report those results as early as possible, but the company’s U.K. U.S. No. His U.S. study was delayed for a few weeks after he participated in his COVID-19 study. The vaccine experienced an unexplained illness. AstraZeneca’s U.S. The clinical trial then resumed.
Johnson and Johnson were also given a temporary break for a late-stage coronavirus vaccine study due to a potential safety issue. The investigation determined that the issue was not related to the J&K experimental vaccine, however, and the study went ahead. J&J has not indicated when it expects to announce preliminary results from its end-phase study, although it looks likely in early 2021.
Outstanding efficacy results for Pfizer and Moderna could progress well for both AstraZeneca and J&J. Experimental vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna modified messenger RNA to instruct ribosomes to produce protein in cells. AstraZeneca and J&J use a different approach, where the adenovirus (which is the main cause of the common cold) delivers DNA that contains instructions for replicating the coronavirus spike protein.
In theory, at least, the adenovirus DNA approach could deliver the same effectiveness as the mRNA approach used by Pfizer and Moderna. It’s too early to know though. J&J has said it does modeling for 70% effectiveness, but thinks the actual level could be higher.
A big sticking point
Which of these coronavirus vaccine manufacturers is likely to take over the coffers from Pfizer and Modern? I went with Johnson and Johnson.
The COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca have at least one common denominator: they all require two doses. For full vaccination, individuals must receive the first dose and then take a second dose after the second week. J&J coronavirus vaccine candidate, however, requires only one dose.
This could give J&J a significant competitive advantage over its competitors. A single dose of vaccine will cost less than a two-dose method. People are also more likely to want a vaccine that they only need to get once.
Johnson and Johnson also do not have the ultra-cold storage requirements that are in the Pfizer vaccine. Its COVID-19 vaccine can remain stable for about two years at minus four degrees Fahrenheit and at temperatures between about 35 degrees and 46 degrees Fahrenheit for up to three months.
Also, J&J beats Modern when it comes to production capacity. Moderna says it will be able to make about 500 million doses of mRNA-1273 next year, although Biotech says it could be “potentially” up to 1 billion doses. J&J is on track to produce more than 1 billion doses per year.
One thing you should not ignore
I think it is possible that Johnson and Johnson will be more successful with their coronavirus vaccine than Pfizer and Moderna will be with their vaccine. Note, however, that I never said that a large healthcare stock would offset any of these two other drug stocks.
My prey is that the biggest of the three winners in terms of stock performance will be Moderna. Why He is the youngest of the group. It takes more than for a relatively small biotech like Moderna to move the needle for large companies like Pfizer and J&J. The most successful coronavirus vaccine manufacturer on one front may not be (and probably will not be) the most successful on the other front.