- 'Much-needed breakthrough' -The lockdowns and other curbs on daily life have shredded the global economy but with few other tools at their disposal to protect vulnerable populations, politicians have felt their hands forced."We are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis," Pfizer chairman and CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement.The drug, being developed jointly with German firm BioNTech, is one of more than 40 candidate vaccines, but no other has yet made similar claims about its effectiveness.The companies said they could pass the final hurdles for a US rollout later this month, and could supply up to 50 million doses globally this.