The American biotech company Moderna has now made significant progress towards a combination vaccine that protects against Covid-19 and influenza (flu). A large effectiveness study showed that a new vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 produced a better immune response than current vaccines.
New features aim to provide the best possible combination with the influenza mRNA vaccine also developed by the company. “We are very excited. (…) mRNA-1283 is a critical component of our combination vaccine against influenza and Covid-19 (mRNA-1083). This milestone gives us confidence that we can bring this urgently needed combination vaccine to market ,” Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said in a press release when the new data was announced.
Most effective for people over 65 years of age
The company announced initial data from a large-scale Phase III trial for its next-generation Covid-19 vaccine candidate. “mRNA-1283 induced a stronger immune response against the omicron variants BA.4/BA.5 and against the original strains of SARS-CoV-2 compared to mRNA-1273.222 (Moderna’s most recent Covid vaccine; note). Importantly, this benefit was most evident in study participants over 65 years of age. This group of people is at the highest risk for severe cases of Covid-19,” Moderna said.
The side effect profile was comparable to that of the approved predecessor preparation, according to the German “Pharmazeutische Zeitung”. About 11,400 people aged 12 and over in the US, UK and Canada took part in the blinded, random-selection study. The currently approved version of Moderna’s Covid vaccine (mRNA-1273.222) was used as the comparator vaccine that some study participants received.
New vaccine can be stored longer
The new vaccine being developed is characterized by a number of features: The antigen created by vaccination with the mRNA is a shorter version consisting of two parts of the spike protein (photo below) of the Covid-19 pathogen. This should trigger the production of more targeted antibodies. In addition, the vaccine must have a longer shelf life. The vaccine must also be able to be formulated as a pre-filled syringe.
“The results could pave the way for a combination vaccine against flu and Covid-19 (mRNA-1083),” the German pharmacy newspaper wrote. In addition to mRNA-1283 (Covid-19), the planned vaccine also contains the flu vaccine candidate mRNA-1010, which should protect against the flu virus strains A(H1N1), A(H3N2) and against two influenza B lines (Yamagata and Victoria).
The efficacy study has been running since the autumn of 2023
An effectiveness study with the combination vaccine was started last autumn. A vaccine specifically for people over 65 against the two viral infections would be particularly important because both flu and Covid-19 pose a major risk in this age group.
Source: Krone
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