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Review
. 2021 Mar;81(4):495-501.
doi: 10.1007/s40265-021-01480-7.

BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine: First Approval

Yvette N Lamb  1
Affiliations
Review

BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine: First Approval

Yvette N Lamb. Drugs. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

BNT162b2 (Comirnaty®; BioNTech and Pfizer) is a lipid nanoparticle-formulated, nucleoside-modified mRNA vaccine for the prevention of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. BNT162b2 encodes the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, the expression of which elicits immune responses against the antigen in recipients. In early December 2020, BNT162b2 received a temporary emergency use authorization (EUA) in the UK and, subsequently, a series of approvals or authorizations for emergency use in Bahrain, Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and the USA. Soon after, BNT162b2 received conditional marketing authorizations in Switzerland (19 December 2020) and the EU (21 December 2020) for active immunization to prevent COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 in individuals 16 years of age and older. BNT162b2 is administered intramuscularly in a two-dose regimen. This article summarizes the milestones in the development of BNT162b2 leading to these first approvals for the prevention of COVID-19.

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Conflict of interest statement

During the peer review process the manufacturer of the agent under review was offered an opportunity to comment on the article. Changes resulting from any comments received were made by the authors on the basis of scientific completeness and accuracy. Yvette Lamb is a salaried employee of Adis International Ltd/Springer Nature, and declares no relevant conflicts of interest. All authors contributed to the review and are responsible for the article content.

Figures

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Key milestones in the development of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. WHO World Heath Organisation
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Mechanism of action of BNT162b2 following intramuscular administration
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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