On Apr. 22, 2020, BioNTech and Pfizer announced that the German regulatory authority, the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, has approved the Phase 1/2 clinical trial for BioNTechﾒs BNT162 vaccine program to prevent COVID-19 infection. The trial is the first clinical trial of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate to start in Germany, and part of a global development program.