Pfizer hopes to know whether it will be able to have a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine by the end of October, the pharmaceutical company's CEO Albert Bourla told NBC's "Today" on Tuesday.
"When the study will read out depends on multiple variables, but right now our model, our best guess predicts that we will have an answer by the end of October," Bourla said, adding that the chances of achieving this by that date are approximately 60%.
He explained, however, that even if this time frame is met for an answer on the efficacy of a vaccine, it does not mean actual distribution by that date.
President Donald Trump declared on Monday that vaccines could be on the market as soon as next month, Fox News reported.
Pfizer is one of nine major pharmaceutical companies to sign a recent pledge to avoid shortcuts on science and not to submit any vaccine for clearance without proper testing and safety precautions, according to The Washington Times.
Bourla emphasized to NBC that the world is looking to science for an end to the pandemic and that his company takes this responsibility extremely seriously.
Bourla said part of his optimism for an answer by the end of October is based on the fact that Pfizer's phase 3 clinical trial is proceeding "very well." "We have already recruited 25,000 patients," he stated.
Pfizer is working with BioNTech, which is based in Germany, to develop a vaccine in partnership with the Trump administration's Operation Warp Speed program announced in May.