A member of staff prepares a phial of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine jab ahead of it being administered at a vaccination centre in Cardiff, Britain, 08 December 2020. (Photo: EPA-EFE/Ben Birchall / POOL) The companies said that none of their systems had been breached in connection with the incident and that “we are unaware that any study participants have been identified through the data being accessed.”
The companies said EMA informed them that the attack would have no effect on the timing of the vaccine review.
Pfizer shares were down 2.3% to $41.50 at 2:35 p.m. in New York.
The European Medicines Agency issued a brief statement Wednesday saying that it had been attacked and had “swiftly launched a full investigation, in close cooperation with law enforcement and other relevant entities.” It declined further comment.
Since the pandemic began, hackers tied to Russia, China and North Korea have been accused of targeting companies working on Covid-19 research. In November, for instance, Microsoft Corp. said hackers in Russia and North Korea had targeted seven “prominent” companies working on vaccines and treatment research. Microsoft, which didn’t identify the companies, said the majority of the attacks were blocked.
In July, the U.K., U.S. and Canadian governments accused Russian intelligence of attempting to steal private information from researching racing to develop a vaccine. And in May, the U.S. government warned that hackers working for the Chinese government were trying to steal research on vaccines and treatments from U.S. health care, pharmaceutical and research organizations.