The following is information shared by Pfizer Inc.
“To avoid adding to the demands on the healthcare system during this unprecedented crisis with COVID-19, we are pausing for three weeks the recruitment portion of our new and ongoing global interventional clinical studies. We are taking this action in the interests of public health, so that our clinical site partners and we can concentrate on caring for patients in our ongoing clinical trials.
The pause will not affect China, Japan and South Korea, where recruitment will continue. This pause will also not apply to trials that are recruiting individuals with life-threatening conditions who have few or no other therapeutic options, including several oncology studies and our DMD gene therapy program. In addition, this decision will not affect studies that are already fully recruited.
Patients in our ongoing trials will not be impacted by this decision.
We have an important responsibility to the patients currently in our clinical trials. This decision will allow our investigators and us to focus on those individuals.
We will review this decision in three weeks and provide another update then. We expect over time to resume recruitment and new study starts on a country-by-country basis.
Importantly, this decision will not affect the start of our COVID-19 vaccine study with BioNTech, nor our intent to move with unprecedented speed in developing our antiviral and other compounds that may be useful in this crisis.
Our Relief Efforts
Pfizer is grateful to the medical professional on the front lines of this epidemic. We have an extensive global network of medical practitioners and experts, many of whom feel called to support their communities in the diagnosis, treatment and provision of public health support during this time. We respect their courage and selflessness to serve and have established a medical service policy that will allow these colleagues up to 13 weeks of paid leave, or longer if necessary, to provide this support.
Pfizer and the Pfizer Foundation have a long history of addressing humanitarian disasters. We are working with governments and international non-governmental organizations to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by donating much needed medications and vaccines and working to support front line health workers. We continue to assess the needs on the ground to determine where more support is needed.
For more on Pfizer’s commitment to patients, read our five-point plan calling on the biopharmaceutical industry to join the company in committing to unprecedented collaboration to combat COVID-19. For additional information about Pfizer, please see our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the information provided in the sections captioned Risk Factors and Forward-Looking Information and Factors That May Affect Future Results.”
