Pfizer Vaccine Data Delayed; Fed Halts Clinical Trial

Any remaining hope for an end to the coronavirus crisis within the next few months appears to be fading, with two more setbacks on the research front emerging on Tuesday (Oct. 27).

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told investors on Tuesday that the pharma giant won’t be releasing coronavirus vaccine data before the Nov. 3 election, according to CNBC.

It’s not clear when the crucial data will be released, though it is likely to be weeks from now.

Meanwhile, the Feds have stopped a clinical trial that combined two coronavirus treatments in a bid to see if that would boost outcomes in hospitalized patients.

The aim was to see if Eli Lilly’s antibody treatment might provide a boost to patients when combined with Gilead’s antiviral drug remdesivir, which has already been found to be effective to some extent in speeding recovery.

But the answer seems to be a resounding no.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases put an end to the clinical trial, ordering that no further patients be given Lilly’s drug under the study and that “investigators be unblinded to the data.”

It follows the agency’s decision on Oct. 13 to pause new enrollment in the study “out of an abundance of caution.”

“This recommendation was based on a low likelihood that the intervention would be of clinical value in this hospitalized patient population,” the agency said in a statement.

Any delay in the rollout of a vaccine is likely to also lead to a delay in any return to normalcy when it comes to consumer spending habits, a PYMNTS survey last month found.

A strong majority of U.S. consumers – 59 percent – say they would need to know that a vaccine was readily available before they would consider returning to their pre-COVID lives.

And another 46 percent say that the all-clear will have to come from the top scientific authority on the issue, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.