Pfizer, Moderna Opt Out Of White House Vaccine Summit: Report

Pfizer Inc. PFE and Moderna Inc MRNA, which are the two frontrunners among the coronavirus vaccine developers, have reportedly rejected an invitation by the Trump administration to attend a vaccine summit at the White House.

What Happened: Pfizer, which is on the cusp of getting emergency use authorization for its vaccine candidate, and Moderna have opted out of the Vaccine Summit the Trump administration has scheduled for Tuesday, STATNews reported, citing sources familiar with the event's planning.

The companies will be conspicuous by their absence in an event, which is largely considered a public relations exercise to trumpet the Trump administration's role in expeditiously bringing to market vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 through its Operation Warp Speed program, the report said.

Moderna told STATNews it initially decided to attend the summit but later pulled out on learning that its attendance may not be required.

Apart from vaccine developers, companies involved in vaccine distribution are expected to attend the event, according to STATNews.

See Also: Bill Gates Says 6 COVID-19 Vaccines Likely To Get Regulatory Approval By Q1

Why It Matters: The snub by the two leading vaccine developers comes against the backdrop of the President criticizing Pfizer for timing the release of the interim late-stage vaccine readout just after the Nov. 3 election.

It's to be noted that FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss EUA for BNT162b2, which Pfizer is developing along with its German partner BioNTech SE – ADR BNTX.

Pfizer shares were edging up 0.53% to $41.47 and Moderna was advancing 2.71% to $163.85 in early Tuesday trading.