Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – Moderna announced on Wednesday that in Phase 1/2 of its clinical trial, its combination vaccine appeared to elicit “strong” immune responses against both influenza and “Covid-19,” and it was found that it security.
The experimental vaccine, called mRNA-1083, was developed to provide some protection against both influenza and Covid-19 in a single dose.
In an announcement on Wednesday, the company stated that it plans to begin a phase 3 trial of the mRNA-1083 vaccine among adults aged 50 or older this year.
The ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial involves comparing the safety and immunogenicity results of the standard influenza vaccine in adults aged 50 to 64 years with those of the combination vaccine in adults aged 65 to 79 years.
Regarding the two age groups, the mRNA-1083 vaccine was also compared to the updated Covid-19 vaccine.
In a Phase 1/2 study, the mRNA-1083 vaccine appears to produce a similar or higher level of antibodies compared to the licensed influenza vaccine and the updated COVID-19 vaccine, according to what Moderna announced.
The combination vaccine also appears to have similar safety profiles to the COVID-19 vaccine, and no new safety concerns have been identified.
“With today’s positive results from our combination influenza and COVID-19 vaccine, we continue to expand our Phase 3 distribution pipeline,” Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said in the announcement.
The combination vaccine will not be available for this respiratory virus season, so separate influenza vaccines and updated COVID-19 vaccines are now recommended for use across America.
Moderna stated in its announcement that it is targeting 2025 to obtain potential regulatory approval for the combination vaccine.
“Influenza and COVID-19 represent a significant seasonal burden on individuals, providers, healthcare systems, and economies,” Bancel said.
He added: “Combined vaccines provide an important opportunity to improve the consumer and provider experience, increase compliance with public health recommendations, and provide value to healthcare systems.”
He explained: “We are excited to move our combination respiratory vaccines into the third phase of development, and we look forward to partnering with public health officials to address the significant seasonal threat that these viruses pose to people.”
Moderna is not the only company that has studied dual vaccines against both influenza and Covid-19, as Pfizer and BioNTech are working to develop a vaccine of this type, in addition to Novavax as well.
The Dean of the College of Medicine at Rosalind Franklin University in Chicago, USA, Dr. Archana Chatterjee, told CNN last year that combining the Covid-19 and influenza vaccines may have benefit.
She pointed to logistical benefits such as reducing the number of injections that must be provided, and that the storage facilities that deliver and administer these vaccines do not need to store many of these vaccines.
“There are two problems with combination vaccines,” Chatterjee said. “We have to make sure they are effective together, which is not always the case.”
She continued: “Sometimes, the components of the vaccine can interfere with each other, and you do not get a good immune response as expected.”
“There’s a safety factor. As you add more vaccines together, you often get more reactions,” she added.
2023-10-09 09:28:42
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