Pfizer (PFE) just announced the U.S. government will pay $1.95 billion for PFE to produce and deliver 100 million doses of its COVID vaccine once the U.S. declares it’s safe and effective.

Under the agreement, the U.S. can acquire an additional 500 million doses from PFE. “Through Operation Warp Speed, we are assembling a portfolio of vaccines to increase the odds that the American people will have at least one safe, effective vaccine as soon as the end of this year,” HHS Secretary Alex Azar said as quoted by CNBC. “Depending on success in clinical trials, today’s agreement will enable the delivery of approximately 100 million doses of vaccine being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.”

PFE and BioNTech plan to launch the next phase of their trials later this month, and will seek regulatory approval as early as October 2020.

OPKO Health Inc. (OPK) gained solid momentum this week after announcing that that NFL and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed contracts with Opko subsidiary BioReference Laboratories to conduct Covid-19 testing.

According to Barron’s, “The NFL contract, confirmed Monday night by Opko executive chairman Jon Cohen on CNBC, covers all 32 of the league’s teams. CNBC reported that the league will require players to be tested twice for Covid-19 before entering club facilities.”

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) fell more than 19% earlier this week on news its experimental depression treatment failed in a Phase 3 study. According to Investor’s Business Daily, “Researchers tested the drug, dubbed Nuplazid, in patients with major depressive disorder, or MDD. But, when added to standard depression treatment, Nuplazid didn’t significantly beat a placebo over the course of five weeks on a key scale.”

“The results were a surprise. An earlier study suggested Nuplazid would succeed as an additive drug in depression treatment. Now, Acadia President Serge Stankovic says the company won’t pursue another test of Nuplazid in MDD.”

Alpha Pro Tech (APT) raced to $21.55, as more states mandate the use of face masks. At the moment, more than half of the U.S. has this mandate to stop the spread of the virus. According to CNBC, “Face coverings are recommended by the CDC and WHO, in addition to other measures such as social distancing, and the CDC has seen growing acceptance of face-covering recommendations. An internet survey from the CDC found approximately three-fourths of Americans saying they adopted mask recommendations.”

Ian Cooper’s Personal Position in the Stocks Above: None