Pfizer moves to allow cheaper COVID-19 pills sending shares of rivals lower
Nov. 16, 2021 9:04 AM ETModerna, Inc. (MRNA), AZN,BNTX,RHHBYPFE, JNJ, MRK,AVIR,RDHL,ADGI,VIR,REGN,LLY,GILD
By: Dulan Lokuwithana, SA News Editor
Established COVID-19 vaccine makers have come under pressure after Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and a United Nations-backed public health organization announced a licensing pact to allow generic-drugmakers to produce cheaper versions of the company’s experimental COVID-19 pill.
Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN), and Pfizer’s (PFE) partner in COVID-19 vaccine development BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) have lost ~1.4%, ~3.1%, and ~1.0% in the pre-market, respectively. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and is trading flat.
The licensing deal by Pfizer (PFE) to enable wider access to its COVID-19 therapeutic follows a similar deal from the rival drugmaker Merck (NYSE:MRK) for its investigational pill, molnupiravir. Merck (MRK) has shed ~1.0% in early trading.
The shares of early-stage developers of oral COVID-19 therapies such as Atea Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVIR)/ Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY), RedHill Biopharma (NASDAQ:RDHL), and Adagio Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ADGI) are also expected to open lower.
Stocks to watch: Established manufacturers of COVID-19 antibody treatments such as Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR), Regeneron (NASDAQ:REGN), Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) as well as Gilead (NASDAQ:GILD), which produces the intravenously administered COVID-19 therapy Remdesivir.
In terms of effectiveness, Pfizer (PFE)) and its rival Merck (MRK) have demonstrated about 89% and ~50% effectiveness for their oral COVID-19 drugs, PAXLOVID, and molnupiravir in late-stage trials, respectively.
