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By Danilo Masoni
MILAN, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Shares in Pfizer fell on
Monday after rival drugmaker Moderna said its
experimental vaccine against COVID-19 was 94.5% effective and
that it can be stored at normal fridge temperatures.
Moderna is the second U.S. company to report encouraging
trial results on a COVID-19 vaccine, joining Pfizer
which has said its vaccine is also more than 90% effective.
But while Pfizer's vaccine has to be stored and shipped at
ultra-cool temperatures, Moderna said its product can be kept at
normal fridge temperatures.
"This is very important, perhaps a game changer," said Fawad
Razaqzada, analyst at ThinkMarkets.
"The Pfizer vaccine had to be kept in very cold temperatures
of minus 70 degrees Celsius, making it logistically difficult to
produce and transport large doses of the vaccine," he said.
Pfizer shares, which on Nov. 9 hit their highest levels
since end July 2019, fell 4.1% by 1623 GMT, while shares in its
German partner BioNTech were down 12.8%.
JPMorgan analysts said the logistics of Moderna's vaccine
were clearly less onerous although they expect storage
requirements for both the vaccines to converge.
Moderna shares were up 9% after hitting a record high
earlier on Monday, while shares in British drugmaker AstraZeneca
, which is yet to release results from its late-stage
vaccine trials, were down 0.9%.
(Reporting by Danilo Masoni. Editing by Jane Merriman)
