The Race to Develop the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine: From the Pharmaceutical Scientists' Perspective.

ABSTRACT: At the outset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, it was clear that a vaccine would be crucial for global health efforts. The Pfizer and BioNTech teams came together in a race against the virus, working to design, test, manufacture, and distribute a safe and efficacious vaccine in record time for people around the world. Here, we provide backstory commentary from the pharmaceutical scientist perspective on the challenges and solutions encountered in the development of the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (BNT162b2; b2; Comirnaty®; tozinameran). We discuss the foundational science that led to the decision to use an mRNA-based approach. We also describe key challenges in the identification of an optimal vaccine candidate and testing in clinical trials, the continuous ef

SUBMITTER: Lewis LM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9482796 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature