BioNTech : New Formulation of COMIRNATY® Receives Positive Opinion from CHMP

Published: 2021-10-18 11:12:08 ET BNTX

NEW YORK and MAINZ, Germany, October 18, 2021 - Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE, "Pfizer") and BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX, "BioNTech") today announced that the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Human Medicinal Products (CHMP) issued a positive opinion for a new formulation of COMIRNATY® (COVID-19 vaccine, mRNA).

The new formulation does not require the dilution of the concentrate and will be available in a 10-vial (60 dose) pack size, therefore, helps ensure simplified handling of the vaccine. All other aspects, including the antigen and the lipids of the vaccine, remain unchanged. The thawed vial contains six doses, which can be administered directly.

In addition, the new formulation allows for longer storage. Vials can be stored for 10 weeks at fridge temperatures from 2°C to 8°C, while the current formulation can be stored at fridge temperature (2-8°C) for 31 days. After first puncture, the vials with the new formulation can be stored and transported at 2 °C to 30 °C and used within 12 hours, which is longer than the current formulation, where the product stability is 6 hours at 2 ºC to 30 ºC after first puncture. The new formulation for the currently approved population (individuals 12 and older) will be available in a phased rollout starting in early 2022.

If authorized, the vaccine for the younger population from 5 to <12 years of age will be based on the new formulation, which will be adapted to allow a lower dose level of 10 µg after dilution.

COMIRNATY, which is based on BioNTech's proprietary mRNA technology, was developed by both BioNTech and Pfizer. BioNTech is the Marketing Authorization Holder in the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada and the holder of emergency use authorizations or equivalents in the United States (jointly with Pfizer) and other countries. Submissions to pursue regulatory approvals in those countries where emergency use authorizations or equivalent were initially granted are ongoing.

AUTHORIZED USE IN THE EU: COMIRNATY® ▼ (the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine) has been granted conditional marketing authorization (CMA) by the by the European Commission to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in people from 12 years of age. The vaccine is administered as a 2-dose series, 3 weeks apart. In addition, the CMA has been expanded to include a booster dose (third dose) at least 6 months after the second dose in individuals 18 years of age and older. For immunocompromised individuals, the third dose may be given at least 28 days after the second dose. The European Medicines Agency's (EMA's) human medicines committee (CHMP) has completed its rigorous evaluation of COMIRNATY®, concluding by consensus that sufficiently robust data on the quality, safety and efficacy of the vaccine are now available.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION:

The black equilateral triangle denotes that additional monitoring is required to capture any adverse reactions. This will allow quick identification of new safety information. Individuals can help by reporting any side effects they may get. Side effects can be reported to EudraVigilance or directly to BioNTech using email [email protected], telephone +49 6131 9084 0, or via the website www.biontech.de

Emergency uses of the vaccine have not been approved or licensed by FDA, but have been authorized by FDA, under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to prevent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in individuals 12 years of age and older. The emergency uses are only authorized for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of emergency use of the medical product under Section 564(b)(1) of the FD&C Act unless the declaration is terminated or authorization revoked sooner. Please see EUA Fact Sheet at www.cvdvaccine-us.com.

About Pfizer: Breakthroughs That Change Patients' Lives At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development and manufacture of health care products, including innovative medicines and vaccines. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as one of the world's premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies, we collaborate with health care providers, governments and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For more than 170 years, we have worked to make a difference for all who rely on us. We routinely post information that may be important to investors on our website at www.Pfizer.com. In addition, to learn more, please visit us on www.Pfizer.com and follow us on Twitter at @Pfizer and @Pfizer News, LinkedIn, YouTube and like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Pfizer.

Pfizer Disclosure Notice The information contained in this release is as of October 18, 2021. Pfizer assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this release as the result of new information or future events or developments.

This release contains forward-looking information about Pfizer's efforts to combat COVID-19, the collaboration between BioNTech and Pfizer to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, the BNT162 mRNA vaccine program and COMIRNATY (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) (BNT162b2) (including the potential of the new formulation of COMIRNATY, qualitative assessments of available data, potential benefits, expectations for clinical trials, the anticipated timing of data readouts, regulatory submissions, regulatory approvals or authorizations and anticipated manufacturing, distribution and supply) involving substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including the ability to meet anticipated clinical endpoints, commencement and/or completion dates for clinical trials, regulatory submission dates, regulatory approval dates and/or launch dates, as well as risks associated with preclinical and clinical data (including the Phase 2/3 data), including the possibility of unfavorable new preclinical, clinical or safety data and further analyses of existing preclinical, clinical or safety data; whether and when our Phase 3 clinical trial will demonstrate protection from infection or disease following a booster (third) dose, which is the subject of ongoing study; the ability to produce comparable clinical or other results, including the rate of vaccine effectiveness and safety and tolerability profile observed to date, in additional analyses of the Phase 3 trial and additional studies or in larger, more diverse populations following commercialization; the ability of BNT162b2 to prevent COVID-19 caused by emerging virus variants; the risk that more widespread use of the vaccine will lead to new information about efficacy, safety, or other developments, including the risk of additional adverse reactions, some of which may be serious; the risk that preclinical and clinical trial data are subject to differing interpretations and assessments, including during the peer review/publication process, in the scientific community generally, and by regulatory authorities; whether and when additional data from the BNT162 mRNA vaccine program will be published in scientific journal publications and, if so, when and with what modifications and interpretations; whether regulatory authorities will be satisfied with the design of and results from these and any future preclinical and clinical studies; whether and when submissions to request emergency use or conditional marketing authorizations for BNT162b2 in younger pediatric populations, applications for a potential booster dose and/or other biologics license and/or emergency use authorization applications or amendments to any such applications may be filed in particular jurisdictions for BNT162b2 or any other potential vaccines that may arise from the BNT162 program, and if obtained, whether or when such emergency use authorization or licenses will expire or terminate; whether and when any applications that may be pending or filed for BNT162b2 (including potential submissions for younger pediatric populations, a potential booster dose or any other requested amendments to the emergency use or conditional marketing authorizations) or other vaccines that may result from the BNT162 program may be approved by particular regulatory authorities, which will depend on myriad factors, including making a determination as to whether the vaccine's benefits outweigh its known risks and determination of the vaccine's efficacy and, if approved, whether it will be commercially successful; decisions by regulatory authorities impacting labeling or marketing, manufacturing processes, safety and/or other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of a vaccine, including development of products or therapies by other companies; disruptions in the relationships between us and our collaboration partners, clinical trial sites or third-party suppliers; the risk that demand for any products may be reduced or no longer exist; risks related to the availability of raw materials to manufacture a vaccine; challenges related to our vaccine's formulation, two-dose schedule and attendant storage, distribution and administration requirements, including risks related to storage and handling after delivery by Pfizer; the risk that we may not be able to successfully develop other vaccine formulations, booster doses or new variant-specific vaccines; the risk that we may not be able to create or scale up manufacturing capacity on a timely basis or maintain access to logistics or supply channels commensurate with global demand for our vaccine, which would negatively impact our ability to supply the estimated numbers of doses of our vaccine within the projected time periods as previously indicated; whether and when additional supply agreements will be reached; uncertainties regarding the ability to obtain recommendations from vaccine advisory or technical committees and other public health authorities and uncertainties regarding the commercial impact of any such recommendations; challenges related to public vaccine confidence or awareness; uncertainties regarding the impact of COVID-19 on Pfizer's business, operations and financial results; and competitive developments.

A further description of risks and uncertainties can be found in Pfizer's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 and in its subsequent reports on Form 10-Q, including in the sections thereof captioned "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Information and Factors That May Affect Future Results", as well as in its subsequent reports on Form 8-K, all of which are filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov and www.pfizer.com.

About BioNTech Biopharmaceutical New Technologies is a next generation immunotherapy company pioneering novel therapies for cancer and other serious diseases. The Company exploits a wide array of computational discovery and therapeutic drug platforms for the rapid development of novel biopharmaceuticals. Its broad portfolio of oncology product candidates includes individualized and off-the-shelf mRNA-based therapies, innovative chimeric antigen receptor T cells, bi-specific checkpoint immuno-modulators, targeted cancer antibodies and small molecules. Based on its deep expertise in mRNA vaccine development and in-house manufacturing capabilities, BioNTech and its collaborators are developing multiple mRNA vaccine candidates for a range of infectious diseases alongside its diverse oncology pipeline. BioNTech has established a broad set of relationships with multiple global pharmaceutical collaborators, including Genmab, Sanofi, Bayer Animal Health, Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, Regeneron, Genevant, Fosun Pharma, and Pfizer. For more information, please visit www.BioNTech.de.

BioNTech Forward-looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" of BioNTech within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may include, but may not be limited to, statements concerning: BioNTech's efforts to combat COVID-19; the collaboration between BioNTech and Pfizer including the program to develop a COVID-19 vaccine and COMIRNATY (COVID-19 vaccine, mRNA) (BNT162b2) (including the new formulation of BNT162b2 and the potential in children 5 to less than 12 years of years of age and an ongoing study in children 6 months to 5 years of age, a BLA to support potential full FDA approval of BNT162b2 in individuals 12 through 15 years, qualitative assessments of available data, potential benefits, expectations for clinical trials, the anticipated timing of regulatory submissions, regulatory approvals or authorizations and anticipated manufacturing, distribution and supply); our expectations regarding the potential characteristics of BNT162b2 in our clinical trials and/or in commercial use based on data observations to date; the ability of BNT162b2 to prevent COVID-19 caused by emerging virus variants; the expected time point for additional readouts on efficacy data of BNT162b2 in our clinical trials; the nature of the clinical data, which is subject to ongoing peer review, regulatory review and market interpretation; the timing for submission of data for, or receipt of, any marketing approval or Emergency Use Authorization; our contemplated shipping and storage plan, including our estimated product shelf life at various temperatures; the risk that demand for any products may be reduced or no longer exist; the ability of BioNTech to supply the quantities of BNT162 to support clinical development and market demand, including our production estimates for 2021; and challenges related to public vaccine confidence or awareness. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on BioNTech current expectations and beliefs of future events, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the ability to meet the pre-defined endpoints in clinical trials; competition to create a vaccine for COVID-19; the ability to produce comparable clinical or other results, including our stated rate of vaccine effectiveness and safety and tolerability profile observed to date, in the remainder of the trial or in larger, more diverse populations upon commercialization; the ability to effectively scale our productions capabilities; and other potential difficulties.

For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, see BioNTech's Annual Report as Form 20-F for the Year Ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on March 30, 2021, which is available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and BioNTech undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.

CONTACTS

Pfizer: Media Relations +1 (212) 733-1226 [email protected]

Investor Relations +1 (212) 733-4848 [email protected]

BioNTech: Media Relations Jasmina Alatovic +49 (0)6131 9084 1513 [email protected]

Investor Relations Sylke Maas, Ph.D. +49 (0)6131 9084 1074 [email protected]

Disclaimer

BioNTech SE published this content on 18 October 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 18 October 2021 15:11:05 UTC.