Pfizer, BioNTech to request emergency use of COVID-19 vaccine in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO -- American drugmaker Pfizer and German pharmaceutical firm BioNTech will request Brazil's emergency use authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine the two firms are jointly developing, Edson Moreira, the coordinator of the trials in the South American country, said on Monday.

The two firms announced Monday that the vaccine BNT162b2 is more than 90 percent effective based on the initial Phase 3 trial results.

"Pfizer intends to request the registration (of the vaccine) by the end of this month," Moreira said in an interview with Brazil's TV network Globonews.

"Given the seriousness of the matter and the importance of public health, (it intends to) also request approval for its use and emergency distribution," he said.

Moreira said the trial results exceeded expectations with vaccinated volunteers showing a higher production of antibodies than people infected with COVID-19.

"The 90 percent efficacy is extraordinary. It may seem like little, but in the world of vaccines, that is one of the highest outcomes we could hope for," he said.

Pfizer is conducting clinical trials on more than 43,500 volunteers in six countries, including Brazil.