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Replies to post #234409 on Biotech Values
Stringent storage and distribution could limit use of Pfizer and BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine candidate more than a rival shot from Moderna if both are authorized for wide use in humans, according to data reviewed by a federal immunization panel. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine must be transported and stored at much lower temperatures and, once thawed, only remains stable for 24 hours in a refrigerator.
The BioNTech/Pfizer experimental vaccine, called BNT162b2, however, must be stored and distributed at -94 degrees and once thawed can be kept in a refrigerator at below 46 degrees for up to seven days. These requirements "will make it very difficult for community clinics and local pharmacies to store and administer," the CDC officials told ACIP.
The difference in temperature requirements could be a "fairly meaningful difference commercially," wrote Evercore ISI analyst Umer Raffat in a note to clients. Pfizer is working to extend the stability of its vaccine to seven days as well, however.
Other vaccines in late-stage testing, such as the one AstraZeneca licensed from the University of Oxford, may be able to be kept in a refrigerator and not require freezing, Raffat wrote.
The J&J COVID-19 vaccine candidate appears to have the advantage of being stable at more typical vaccine storage temperatures, for two years at -20 degrees C (-4 F) and at least three months at 2-8 degrees C (35-46 F). Some of the other candidate vaccines require storage at -80 degrees C, with others -60 degrees C. Another advantage is it appears to require only a single dose. Several other candidate vaccines require two doses about 28 days apart.
