Vaccine manufacturers testify before Congress, earnings bonanza: What to know in the week ahead

Emily McCormick · Reporter
6 min read

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This week, the second-quarter earnings season continues with a host of companies across industries slated to report results. Mid-week, a handful of pharmaceutical companies that are working to quickly develop a Covid-19 vaccine will testify before Congress.

Vaccine manufacturers’ appearance

Five companies working to develop a coronavirus vaccine are set to appear before a US House of Representatives subcommittee to discuss their work in creating inoculations.

Officials from Merck (MRK), Moderna (MRNA), Pfizer (PFE), AstraZeneca (AZN) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) are set to testify on July 21 before the House Committee of Energy and Commerce.

“This hearing will provide an opportunity for both Congress and the American people to hear directly from some of the manufacturers currently developing potential COVID-19 vaccines,” the committee said in a statement earlier this month. “We look forward to hearing from each of the companies about their research and development efforts, safety and efficacy standards and their ongoing preparations to manufacture and distribute an eventual vaccine.”

The hearing comes as infections from the coronavirus pandemic continue to march higher, with global cases topping 14.3 million and deaths surpassing 602,000, according to John Hopkins data as of Sunday. The US remains a global epicenter for the pandemic.

The US is aiming to deliver a vaccine by year-end, and has invested more than $2 billion across a host of companies as part of Operation Warp Speed to achieve this goal. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recently said he “felt good about the projected timetable” for a vaccine, according to a recent interview with Reuters.

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS - MAY 08: A view of Moderna headquarters on May 08, 2020 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Moderna was given FDA approval to continue to phase 2 of Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine trials with 600 participants. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Many of the individual drug-makers set to testify before the House have in recent weeks unveiled promising data on their own work in developing a vaccine. Moderna has been among the furthest along in its vaccine development so far, and data published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that all 45 patients treated in a trial with Moderna’s potential vaccine produced neutralizing antibodies – an important factor in providing eventual virus protection. The company is set to begin its late-stage trial for the vaccine on July 27.

As of mid-July, there were more than 135 vaccines in preclinical tests, and some 30 in clinical trial globally, according to data tracked by the New York Times.

Earnings bonanza

Companies comprising about 25% of the S&P 500 are set to deliver earnings results in the coming week, for one of the heaviest weeks of reports this quarter.

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