Pfizer stock up over reports that it found antiviral compounds

Drug maker Pfizer saw its stock jumping nearly 13 per cent after media reports claimed that the company has identified some antiviral compounds that may treat the new coronavirus (COVID-19).

The revelation came after US President Donald Trump met executives from Gilead Sciences, Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi, Pfizer and other manufacturers to discuss progress on vaccines and antivirals to combat the coronavirus which has killed more than 3,000 people globally.

Pfizer Chief Scientific Officer Mikael Dolsten was one of the pharmaceutical executives who met with Trump at the White House.

According to reports, Pfizer is currently in the process of screening the compounds with a third party and the results will be in by the end of March.

Pfizer stock hit Rs 4,925 per share -- a 52-week high.

Trump reportedly urged pharmaceutical executives to accelerate their efforts to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus.

"We've asked them to accelerate whatever they're doing in terms of a vaccine," Trump told reporters during an Oval Office meeting, reports The Hill.

The novel coronavirus has killed four more Americans in suburban Seattle, taking the total death toll in the US to six, while New York reported its first case in Manhattan as Trump cranked up the pressure on Americas leading pharmaceutical companies to "get it done" although his own health experts have cautioned that a vaccine was at least 12 months away.

The US now has about 100 total cases across 14 states. IANS