Pfizer vs Moderna vaccines: What we know, and what we don't

Pfizer vs Moderna vaccines: What we know, and what we don't Two vaccine candidates using similar technology are winning the COVID-19 vaccine race in the U.S., and in the process validating the mRNA platform — which is yet untested on the market— as well as setting the path for vaccine makers to follow in order to block the virus. YahooNews

Two vaccine candidates using similar technology are winning the COVID-19 vaccine race in the U.S., and in the process validating the mRNA platform — which is yet untested on the market — as well as setting the path for vaccine makers to follow in order to block the virus.

Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX) released a first look at their data, touting a 90% efficacy rating — much higher than the 60% bar set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and surpassing the minimum number of infections required in order to conclude the trial.

Moderna (MRNA), on the other hand, blew past the duo with a 94.5% efficacy rating and also has a leg up with its cold-chain needs, which are significantly less arduous than the ultra-cold needs of Pfizer’s vaccine.

The number, in tandem with the zero severe COVID-19 cases reported in the vaccinated group, has given the company an even bigger boost.

“Moderna has basically told us its 100% (efficacious). No one is saying it out loud, but that’s huge. If that were to hold up across the population, we could get back to normal life,” said Dr. Howard Forman, health policy expert and Yale University professor.

While Pfizer, a pharmaceutical giant and one of the leading vaccine makers in the world, has the experience and infrastructure to scale up more quickly, both it and Lonza, Moderna’s Swiss manufacturing partner, have had to retrofit their plants to produce the necessary doses.

Pfizer’s vice president of distribution, Tanya Alcorn, recently told Yahoo Finance that the move, along with the purchase of hundreds of ultra-cold freezers to hold the vaccines as it ramps up production, is more of a short-term effort — with little known about the potential of the technology. ...For Moderna, the story is very different. The company’s existence is based on the mRNA platform — which has now been validated and sets the template for future vaccines and treatments. The company had been private for eight years before going public in 2018.

“2021 is going to be an inflection year for the company. We now know that Moderna can make effective vaccines. This was proven today,” CEO Stéphane Bancel told Yahoo Finance Monday.

Pfizer has opted to directly ship its vaccine to points of use, while Moderna will rely on the federal government’s contract with McKesson (MCK). Pfizer’s CEO has been keen to highlight the company’s independence from federal funding, though it is a part of Operation Warp Speed as it relates to the government purchasing the vaccines, as well as supplying vials and other supplemental equipment.

Moderna, on the other hand, has been very reliant on federal funding — receiving nearly $2 billion, which is the same amount Pfizer says it has spent — to develop the vaccine as well as for the purchase order for the U.S. ...