RBGPF | 2.42% | 62 | $ | |
JRI | -0.23% | 13.12 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.08% | 24.63 | $ | |
SCS | -0.04% | 12.885 | $ | |
BCC | -1.56% | 135.78 | $ | |
GSK | -0.46% | 37.985 | $ | |
NGG | -1.46% | 66.065 | $ | |
AZN | -0.67% | 76.925 | $ | |
RIO | 0.54% | 65.3 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.16% | 24.83 | $ | |
BCE | -0.33% | 33.28 | $ | |
RELX | -1.43% | 46.96 | $ | |
VOD | -0.89% | 9.545 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.09% | 7.32 | $ | |
BTI | 1.54% | 34.785 | $ | |
BP | 0.53% | 31.639 | $ |
Moderna announces positive results for Omicron vaccine
US biotech company Moderna on Wednesday announced positive results for a new vaccine that targets both the original Covid strain and Omicron.
This so-called "bivalent" vaccine was tested in a trial of more 850 adults, who had all received their first three doses of Moderna's original Spikevax vaccine.
Around half the group then received a fourth dose of Spikevax, while the rest received the bivalent vaccine.
Those who received the bivalent vaccine had significantly higher levels of neutralizing antibodies -- Y-shaped immune system proteins that block the virus -- against Omicron.
On average, these levels were around 75 percent higher in the group who got the bivalent vaccine as a fourth dose compared to those who got the original vaccine as a fourth dose. They also received slightly superior protection to the ancestral strain of Covid compared to Spikevax.
"We are thrilled," said Stephane Bancel, CEO of Moderna in a statement, adding he anticipated this vaccine would be the company's lead candidate for authorization as a booster this fall.
"We want to be as ready as early as August for shipping," he told investors in a call.
Stephen Hoge, the company's president, did concede that antibody levels would be lower against Omicron's sub variants that are now in circulation, but said he believed it was still a superior booster than repeating Spikevax.
The company doesn't yet have data on durability -- how the new vaccine booster will fare three months and six months out.
A panel of Food and Drug Administration experts will meet June 28 to discuss considerations and strategies for boosters in fall and winter.
N.Handrahan--NG