RELEASE: Governor Whitmer Statement on Pfizer’s Clinical Trial for COVID-19 Vaccine

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

May 5, 2020 

Media Contact: press@michigan.gov 

Governor Whitmer Statement on Pfizer’s Clinical Trial for COVID-19 Vaccine 

Initial manufacturing for the vaccine to take place in Kalamazoo, Michigan 

LANSING, Mich. -- Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer released the following statement after Pfizer Inc. announced that the first participants have been dosed in the U.S. in a clinical trial for the BNT162 vaccine program to prevent COVID-19 infection. The company also announced that initial manufacturing for the COVID-19 vaccine will be conducted in Kalamazoo, Michigan. 

“This is great news for our families, our neighbors, and those serving on the front lines during this crisis,” said Governor Whitmer. “COVID-19 has shown how vulnerable our country is when it comes to supply chain and much of the lifesaving materials we need are manufactured out of the country. That’s why we are so proud that one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in the world is the Pfizer site right here in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In fact, Michigan has a strong history of vaccine development with the polio and anthrax vaccines. Pfizer is a great partner and the State of Michigan and our strong manufacturing roots stand ready to serve.” 

Pfizer is making additional at-risk investment to actively scale up their manufacturing capacity and distribution infrastructure to bring a promising vaccine candidate to the world. The company’s clinical trial supply will be made at sites in Andover, Massachusetts and Chesterfield, Missouri, and the initial manufacturing will be conducted in Kalamazoo, Michigan. 

The trial is part of a global development program, and the dosing of the first cohort in Germany was completed last week. The first stage of the study is taking place at four sites across the U.S. – NYU School of Medicine; University of Maryland School of Medicine; University of Rochester School of Medicine; and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, with plans to rapidly scale up the number of sites across the country as Pfizer moves into later stages of development throughout the year.   

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