U.S. Consumers Warned About Fraudulent Coronavirus Testing Sites
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General has issued a warning to the public about fraudulent schemes and scams related to COVID-19 services and testing that involve telemarketing calls, text messages, social media platforms, and door-to-door visits.1 At the outset of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, there was a proliferation of fraudulent […]
Pfizer Withdraws EUA Application for COVID Shot in India After Regulator Asks for Independent Safety Study
Pfizer, Inc. has withdrawn its emergency use authorization (EUA) application for its experimental BNT162b2 (also known as “Comirnaty”) messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 biologic (developed in collaboration with Germany’s BioNTech) in India.1 Pfizer was the first pharmaceutical company to apply for an EUA to distribute a COVID biologic in India in 2021. However, India’s regulatory agency […]
Pharmaceutical Industry Reaping Billions of Dollars in Profits from Coronavirus Tests
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health officials have urged widespread testing for the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that is associated with COVID-19 disease. The two types of coronavirus tests used for diagnosis are laboratory tests and rapid tests, which can either be an antigen test or a Nucleic Acid Amplification Test […]
The Cautionary Tale of a Biotech Company’s Founder, Convicted of Fraud
Elizabeth Holmes was once seen as a revolutionary female genius who graced the cover of magazines such as Forbes and Bloomberg Businessweek. She was Glamour magazine’s “Woman of the Year” in 2015. An Inc. Magazine cover featuring Holmes called her “The Next Steve Jobs.” Headlines boasted of her rise to fame and fortune in Silicon […]
Sales of Pfizer COVID-19 Biologic for 2021-2022 May Near $70 Billion
Based on better than expected sales of its experimental messenger RNA (mRNA) BNT162b2 COVID-19 biologic, New York-based pharmaceutical company Pfizer, Inc. last summer revised projected sales of its experimental drug, also known as “Comirnaty,” from $26 billion to $33.5 billion in 2021. Characterizing second-quarter sales of BNT162b2 as “remarkable,” Pfizer’s chief executive officer (CEO) Albert […]
Former Pfizer Employee Whistleblower Alleges Falsified Data in COVID Biologic Trial
A former testing site researcher in Texas has alleged that Pfizer’s pre-licensure BNT162b2 (also known as “Comirnaty”) COVID-19 biologic trials included falsification of data, unblinding patients, employing inadequately trained vaccinators, and delays in following up on experimental COVID vaccine adverse reaction reports.1 According to clinical trial researcher Brook Jackson, the incidences occurred during the phase […]