Stock Wars: AstraZeneca Vs. Pfizer Benzinga’s Stock Wars series matches up two leaders in a major industry sector, with the goal of letting readers decide which company is the better investment. In this week’s installment, we take a look at two pharmaceutical giants at the forefront of the COVID-19 vaccine development: AstraZeneca plc (NASDAQ:AZN) and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE). The AstraZeneca Experience: AstraZeneca was founded in 1999 through the merger of the Swedish Astra AB, which dated back to 1913, and Britain’s Zeneca Group plc, with the merged company setting up its headquarters in Britain. During the COVID-19 crisis, AstraZeneca teamed with scientists at Oxford University to create a vaccine to stop the spread of the pandemic. The first doses of the vaccine given to patients outside of clinical tests took place in the U.K. in January, and one month later the World Health Organization issued interim guidance and recommended the vaccine for all adults.