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 Moderna hopes to start clinical trials early next year on a vaccine
to protect against the fast-spreading Omicron variant but for now is
focussing on a booster dose vaccine.
"It only needs minor adjustments for Omicron. I don't expect any
problems," Bancel said in an interview with the Swiss newspaper
TagesAnzeiger published on Tuesday.
The company was now awaiting important information on the variant to
begin development.
"That will take another week or two," Bancel said.
"It will take a few months before we can produce 500 million doses
after (regulatory) approval. But our capacities are much higher
today than a year ago," he said.
If approval bodies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and
Switzerland's Swissmedic require further studies, that would add at
least three months.
"Some authorities want a study, others are still undecided. In my
opinion, it depends very much on how severely the disease
progresses," he said.
Following delivery delays and lags in production in early 2021,
Moderna is now able to keep up with production targets and deliver
orders on time.
The company made between 700 million and 800 million COVID-19
vaccine doses this year, and expects to produce a higher number in
2022, boosting production from 100 million doses a month to 150
million.
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 Additional production lines
that are being built via a deal with Swiss-based
drugmaker Lonza will become operational in the
first quarter of 2022, boosting production, he
said, adding the company for the first time had
30 million doses in stock. After
signing preliminary agreements with Canada and Australia, Moderna
has begun discussions with Switzerland over a so-called vaccine
subscription that could ensure supply as it develops novel mRNA
vaccine, and is interested in deepening ties with other regimes.
"We have a number of new vaccines in development, for example
against influenza or against the RS virus, which causes a
respiratory disease that is fatal in the elderly and young
children," Bancel said.
"We can combine these three mRNA vaccines into one dose and propose
to governments to secure supplies for a certain amount for several
years and then invest in a production facility in that country."
That would give those countries priority supply in the event of a
new pandemic, he said.
(Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi)
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