Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) has begun testing an experimental vaccine to combat the coronavirus in the United States, the pharmaceutical giant announced Tuesday.
The Manhattan.-based company, working alongside German drugmaker BioNTech, said the first human participants in the United States have been dosed with the potential vaccine, BNT162. They began human trials of the experimental vaccine late last month in Germany.
The experimental vaccine contains genetic material called messenger RNA, or mRNA. The mRNA is a genetic code that tells cells what to build -- in this case, an antigen that may induce an immune response for the virus.
The trial will test the experimental vaccine on adults between the ages of 18 and 55 in the first stage before moving on to older groups, the company said, adding it hopes to test up to 360 people.
There are currently no therapies yet approved by the U.S, Food and Drug Administration to treat COVID-19 and drugmakers are racing to produce a vaccine, which U.S. health officials say is expected to take at least 12 to 18 months.
The effort by Pfizer and BioNTech is one of several working on a potential vaccine to prevent COVID-19, which has sickened more than 3.5 million people worldwide and has killed at least more than 247,000 as of Monday night, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
There are more than 100 vaccines in development globally as of April 30, according to the World Health Organization, with at least eight vaccine candidates already in human trials.
PFE shares gained 74 cents, or 2%, to $38.36.
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