Pfizer Inc.'s research and development spending grew 13% from 2017 to 2019, according to data collected by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The New York-based pharmaceutical giant spent a total of $7.66 billion in R&D for full year 2017, reaching a three-year high of $8.65 billion in 2019.

The company, which has been in the news regarding the timeline of its potential COVID-19 vaccine, incurred $3.86 billion in R&D expenses during the first half of 2020.

The COVID-19 vaccine, PF-07302048, also known as BNT162, is in late-stage development. Early data from an ongoing phase 3 study showed the vaccine was safe.

The drugmaker's diverse pipeline of products includes approved and investigational treatments targeting therapeutic areas such as oncology, rare diseases and vaccines, among others.

Together with its German partner BioNTech SE, Pfizer signed deals to supply millions of vaccine doses to the U.S., U.K., Canada, Japan and New Zealand.

In September, the companies concluded exploratory talks with the European Union for an initial purchase of 200 million vaccine doses.

Pfizer and BioNTech are among the front-runners in the COVID-19 vaccine race, having begun rolling submissions for their vaccine candidate to Health Canada and the European Medicines Agency.