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Pa. company hopes FDA will authorize oral COVID-19 vaccine

PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Pfizer and Moderna are garnering the lion’s share of the attention when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines. Dozens of other companies are scrambling to find a cure for the virus, including one in Pennsylvania that might not even require a shot.

Based in Allentown, which sits between Wilkes-Barre and Philadelphia, US Specialty Formations also hopes to be granted authorization from the FDA to distribute their vaccine. The company is working alongside VaxForm to create the vaccine.

“Starting in January, we’ll be scaling up our production, so we’ll have a stockpile of vaccine available to release as soon as we’re given the okay from the FDA,” said CEO Dr. Kyle Flanigan.

The vaccine would not need special refrigeration like what Pfizer and Moderna are putting out. Those require ultra-cold storage, creating shipping and storage issues all before anyone gets the vaccine.

The company said it anticipates creating nearly 100 new jobs. If everything goes according to plan, the FDA could grant authorization as soon as May for the oral vaccine.

“We’re very excited about the progress we’ve made in a short amount of time,” said VaxForm president Dr. Garry Morefield.