Moderna combo Covid and flu vaccine shows positive late-stage data | Wilnesh News

modern On Monday, it said its combination vaccine against Covid-19 and influenza was more effective than existing separate vaccines against those viruses in late-stage trials.

The biotech company is the first to release positive Phase 3 data The combination of coronavirus and influenza Shot that could put it ahead of rival vaccine makers Pfizer and Novavax.

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said in an interview that the company plans to apply for regulatory approval of its combination vaccine in the United States this summer and hopes to enter the market in 2025.

Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax say the combined shot will simplify how people protect themselves against respiratory viruses, which typically surge around the same time of year. With fewer Americans willing to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the added convenience is crucial.

Bancel added that the combined shot could reduce the burden of the respiratory virus on pharmacists and the broader U.S. health care system, which has been grappling with workforce shortages that have left many workers stretched thin.

Moderna’s messenger RNA combination vaccine, called mRNA-1083, consists 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 3 trials.

An ongoing late-stage trial of mRNA-1083 is examining 8,000 patients with the combination injection.

The study compared the combination vaccine with a booster flu vaccine called Fluzone HD and Moderna’s currently licensed COVID-19 vaccine, Spikevax, in a group of patients aged 65 and older. The trial also compared Moderna’s combination vaccine with the standard flu vaccines Fluarix and Spikevax in a separate group of participants aged 50 to 64 years.

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 omicron variant XBB.1.5.

Moderna said the combination shot was safe and well tolerated by patients. The most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, and headache. Most of these effects are mild to moderate in severity.

Moderna is also developing a combination vaccine against influenza and RSV, as well as another vaccine against all three respiratory viruses (COVID-19, influenza and RSV).

Meanwhile, Pfizer and BioNTech are also working on a vaccine against the coronavirus and influenza in late-stage trials. Novavax is also developing combinations against these viruses, but its Covid vaccine uses protein-based technology.