NEW YORK & MAINZ, Germany– Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX) today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency use authorization (EUA) of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine as a three 3-µg dose series for children 6 months through 4 years of age (also referred to as 6 months to less than 5 years of age). The 3-µg dose was carefully selected as the preferred dose for children under 5 years of age based on safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity data.
“Tens of millions of older children across the globe have already been vaccinated with our COVID-19 vaccine, helping to prevent symptomatic, severe disease and hospitalization. We know many parents in the U.S. have been eagerly awaiting an authorized vaccine for their children under 5 and we are proud to now offer them a vaccine option with a favorable safety profile,” said Albert Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer. “We are grateful to all the parents and caregivers who made today’s authorization possible by choosing to enroll their children in our COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial.”
“We are committed to providing access to our COVID-19 vaccine to all age groups. Parents in the U.S. now have the option to vaccinate their children under 5 years of age, and we are working to ensure that other countries worldwide will follow,” said Prof. Ugur Sahin, M.D., CEO and Co-founder of BioNTech. “The data from our Phase 2/3 study show that a dose level of 3-µg of our vaccine, which we selected based on safety, tolerability and immunogenicity data, administered in a 3-dose series, provides young children and infants with a high level of protection, also during the recent Omicron wave.”
The EUA is based on data from a Phase 2/3 randomized, controlled trial that included 4,526 children 6 months through 4 years of age. In the trial, children received the third 3-µg dose at least two months after the second dose at a time when Omicron was the predominant variant. Following a third dose in this age group, the vaccine was found to elicit a strong immune response, with a favorable safety profile similar to placebo.
In the trial, the SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibody geometric mean titer (GMT) one month after the third dose was 1,535.2 (95% CI, 1,388.2, 1,697.8) in children 2 through 4 years of age and 1,406.5 (95% CI, 1,211.3, 1,633.1) in infants 6 through 23 months. The antibody responses in both age groups were comparable to those recorded in people 16 to 25 years of age immunized with two 30-µg doses and met the pre-specified success criteria to declare non-inferiority. Demonstration of noninferiority and safety were the regulatory requirements for potential authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine in this age group.
Three 3-µg doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine demonstrated a favorable safety and tolerability profile comparable to placebo. No new safety signals were identified, and the frequency of adverse reactions observed in children 6 months through 4 years were generally lower than in children 5 through 11 years. In the 6 through 23 months age group, 30.3% of participants reported adverse events in the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine group, and 27.3% of participants reported adverse events in the placebo group. Similarly, 18.8% and 18.9% of participants who received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine or placebo respectively reported adverse events in the 2 through 4-year age group.
Reactogenicity events were mostly mild to moderate and short lived for both age groups with systemic events comparable to placebo. Reactions were comparable after dose 1, 2 and 3.
The clinical trial results were reviewed by the FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) on June 15, who unanimously recommended authorization. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will meet June 17 and June 18 to discuss a potential recommendation for the use and rollout of the vaccine to children 6 months through 4 years of age. Vaccinations for children 6 months through 4 years of age are anticipated to start subject to and after the CDC endorses the ACIP recommendation.
Pfizer and BioNTech will begin shipping 3-µg pediatric doses as directed by the U.S. government. Eligible U.S. residents will continue to receive the vaccine for free, consistent with the U.S. government’s commitment to free access to COVID-19 vaccines.
The companies plan to submit requests for authorization of their COVID-19 vaccine in this age group to other regulators around the world, including the European Medicines Agency in early July.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, which is based on BioNTech’s proprietary mRNA technology, was developed by both BioNTech and Pfizer. BioNTech is the Marketing Authorization Holder in the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada and the holder of emergency use authorizations or equivalents in the United States (jointly with Pfizer) and other countries. Submissions to pursue regulatory approvals in those countries where emergency use authorizations or equivalent were initially granted are planned.
