|
The
trial results raised the company's hopes that the vaccine will
be used in an inoculation drive in the fall season. Moderna will
submit the data to regulators "in the coming weeks", and expects
it to get clearance in late summer.
As the overall demand for vaccinations declines, companies have
shifted gears and are targeting a more competitive booster dose
market.
In the study, which did not measure vaccine effectiveness, the
booster, mRNA-1273.214, raised virus-neutralizing antibodies by
eight-fold against Omicron.
Moderna has been studying the so-called bivalent vaccine, which
targets both Omicron and the original coronavirus strain to
determine if it works better against the variant.
Several studies have shown that vaccine immunity starts to wane
over time, and the Omicron variant partially evades some
protection from two doses.
"We anticipate more durable protection against variants of
concern with mRNA-1273.214, making it our lead candidate for a
Fall 2022 booster," said Chief Executive Officer Stephane Bancel
in a statement.
(Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
