MA Pharma Companies Won't Rush Coronavirus Vaccine

BOSTON — Prospective coronavirus vaccine makers, including Cambridge-based Moderna, are planning to make a joint pledge not to release any vaccines until they meet rigorous efficacy and safety standards.

The statement is designed to reassure the public that standard vaccine protocols won't be sidestepped under pressure from President Donald Trump, who has called for a vaccine to be available before the Nov. 3 election, the New York Times reported. Trump said Friday a vaccine would "probably" be ready by October, doing little to alleviate concern from both senior regulators and the companies themselves.

Moderna began a phase three efficacy trial for a coronavirus vaccine with 30,000 participants in July, according to the New York Times vaccine tracker. Other pharmaceutical companies have their own COVID-19 vaccines in development. Johnson and Johnson plans to begin a 60,000-participant phase three trial in September for the vaccine it has developed with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

The statement's signers will include Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi, the newspaper reported. Meanwhile, senior FDA officials are discussing making their own public statement, while multiple top health officials have said they will quit rather than allow undue influence in vaccine approval from the White House.

Pfizer has said it could seek approval as early as October, but other manufacturers and the federal government's Operation Warp Speed have said only that they plan to have a vaccine ready by the end of the year.