Covid-19 Testmakers Dealt $47 Billion Blow by Pfizer Vaccine

A health worker holds blood samples during clinical trials for a Covid-19 vaccine at Research Centers of America in Hollywood, Florida, U.S., on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. Drugmakers racing to produce Covid-19 vaccines pledged to avoid shortcuts on science as they face pressure to rush a shot to market.Photographer: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg

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By Bailey Lipschultz

November 9, 2020 at 3:50 PM UTC

Updated on

November 9, 2020 at 9:18 PM UTC

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Promising results from a study of Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE’s vaccine for Covid-19 sent companies that have developed and sold tests to diagnose the condition spiraling, wiping out more than $47 billion in market value across more than a dozen stocks.

Concerns about the sustainability of profits for the testing-kit market erased more than a quarter of Quidel Corp.’s value. High-flying stocks including Hologic Inc. and Qiagen tumbled 7.8% or more, while competitors like Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Abbott Laboratories, and Danaher Corp. shed billions in value as their stocks tumbled.