Pfizer shares soar on positive test results for Covid pill
Shares of drug giant Pfizer surged more than 10% in early trading Friday after the company announced positive test results for an experimental pill it has developed to fight Covid-19. People are shown here walking in front of Pfizer sign at Pfizer World Headquarters on March 23
By Paul R. La Monica, CNN Business
Shares of drug giant Pfizer surged nearly 11% Friday after the company announced positive test results for an experimental pill it has developed to fight Covid-19.
Pfizer said the pill reduced the risk of hospitalization and death for high-risk patients who were part of a trial taking the drug.
The news comes just a few days after Pfizer reported strong earnings and sales, thanks largely to the success of the Covid-19 vaccine it developed with BioNTech.
The US Food and Drug Administration also recently approved the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in 5- to 11-year-old children.
But shares of BioNTech, which will report earnings next week, plunged more than 20% Friday. Shares of Pfizer’s Big Pharma rival Merck, which also is developing a Covid pill, were down about 10%.
Biotech Novavax, which is applying for emergency use authorization of its Covid vaccine, fell more than 11%.
Moderna, another biotech that has its own Covid-19 vaccine, plummeted about 17% Friday.
That follows a nearly 18% slide for the stock Thursday after Moderna announced weaker than expected results and a disappointing outlook due to production and shipment problems that will delay the deliveries of its vaccine.
The-CNN-Wire
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