Pfizer, BioNTech shares gain as more data backs vaccine candidate

Pfizer has said repeatedly since June that it was targeting October for its application and the companies started a large late-stage study last month of the candidate vaccine, one of the few globally in later stages of development. On Thursday they reported data from previous early-stage trials of the vaccine, BNT162b2, that showed it induced similar immune responses and had milder side effects than prior data on another candidate. Pfizer stock, down 1% this year, has trailed the stellar rises in value of major pharmaceutical companies this year.