Empty bottles of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine.
Fred Tanneau | AFP | fake images
modern on Monday said its combination vaccine that attacks both Covid-19 and flu was more effective than existing standalone shots for those viruses in a late-stage trial.
The biotech company is the first to publish positive phase three data on a combined Covid and flu vaccine, giving it a potential advantage over rival vaccine makers. Pfizer and Novavax.
Moderna plans to apply for regulatory approval for its combination vaccine this summer in the United States and hopes to enter the market in 2025, the company's chief executive, Stéphane Bancel, said in an interview.
Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax have said the combination shots will simplify how people can protect themselves against respiratory viruses that typically emerge at the same time of year. The added convenience is critical as fewer Americans roll up their sleeves to get vaccinated against Covid.
Bancel added that the combination shots could reduce the burden of respiratory viruses on pharmacists and the broader U.S. healthcare system, which has been grappling with a workforce shortage that has many workers stretched thin.
Moderna's messenger RNA combo vaccine, called mRNA-1083, is made up of the company's seasonal flu vaccine candidate and a newer, “next-generation” version of its Covid vaccine. Both experimental vaccines (mRNA-1010 and mRNA-1283) have shown positive results in separate phase three trials.
The ongoing late-stage trial of mRNA-1083 examined the combination injection in 8,000 patients.
The study compared the combination shot with an improved flu vaccine called Fluzone HD and Moderna's currently authorized Covid vaccine, Spikevax, in a group of patients aged 65 and older. The trial also compared Moderna's combination to a standard flu vaccine called Fluarix and Spikevax in another group of participants ages 50 to 64.
In both age groups, a single dose of Moderna's combination vaccine produced “statistically significantly higher” immune responses against three influenza strains and the Covid XBB.1.5 omicron variant.
Moderna said the safety of the combination shot, along with how well it was tolerated by patients, was acceptable. The most common side effects were pain at the injection site, fatigue, muscle pain, and headache. Most of these effects were mild to moderate in severity.
Moderna is also developing a combination flu and RSV vaccine, and another vaccine targeting all three respiratory viruses: Covid, flu and RSV.
Meanwhile, Pfizer and BioNTech are also studying a vaccine that targets both Covid and flu in a late-stage trial. Novavax is also developing a combination for those viruses, but its Covid vaccine uses protein-based technology.
