Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE have announced the initiation of a Biologics License Application (BLA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval of their mRNA vaccine to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 16 years of age and older. Data to support the BLA will be submitted by the Companies to the FDA on a rolling basis over the coming weeks, with a request for Priority Review. The Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date for a decision by the FDA will be set once the BLA is complete and formally accepted for review by the agency.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is currently available in the U.S. under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) granted by the FDA on December 11, 2020. Since then, the Companies have delivered more than 170 million doses of the vaccine across the U.S. Submission of a BLA, which requires longer-term follow-up data for acceptance and approval, is the next step in the rigorous FDA review process.
“We are proud of the tremendous progress we’ve made since December in delivering vaccines to millions of Americans, in collaboration with the U.S. Government,” said Albert Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer. “We look forward to working with the FDA to complete this rolling submission and support their review, with the goal of securing full regulatory approval of the vaccine in the coming months.”
“Following the successful delivery of more than 170 million doses to the U.S. population in just a few months, the BLA submission is an important cornerstone of achieving long-term herd immunity and containing COVID-19 in the future,” said Ugur Sahin, M.D., CEO and Co-founder of BioNTech. “We are pleased to work with U.S. regulators to seek approval of our COVID-19 vaccine based on our pivotal Phase 3 trial and follow-up data.”
Pfizer and BioNTech initiated the BLA by submitting the nonclinical and clinical data needed to support licensure of the COVID-19 vaccine for use in individuals 16 years of age and older. This includes the most recent analyses from the pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial, where the vaccine’s efficacy and favorable safety profile were observed up to 6 months after the second dose. The Companies will submit the required manufacturing and facility data for licensure in the coming weeks to complete the BLA.
Pfizer and BioNTech also have submitted an application to expand the current EUA for their COVID-19 vaccine to include individuals 12 to 15 years of age. The Companies intend to submit a supplemental BLA to support licensure of the vaccine in this age group once the required data 6 months after the second vaccine dose are available.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, which is based on BioNTech proprietary mRNA technology, was developed by both BioNTech and Pfizer. BioNTech is the Marketing Authorization Holder in the European Union, and the holder of emergency use authorizations or equivalent in the United States (together with Pfizer), United Kingdom, Canada and other countries in advance of a planned application for full marketing authorizations in these countries.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has not been approved or licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but has been authorized for emergency use by FDA under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to prevent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) for use in individuals 16 years of age and older. The emergency use of this product is 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.
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