Moderna Inc. announced Tuesday that a late-stage study found its experimental messenger RNA respiratory syncytial virus vaccine was 83.7% effective at preventing at least two symptoms in adults age 60 and older.
RSV causes symptoms similar to those of a cold and can be fatal in young children and older adults. It results in about 14,000 deaths a year in adults aged 65 and over. RSV, the flu, and the coronavirus all surged in the US and Europe this fall.
There is currently no adult vaccine on the market, but Moderna, Pfizer Inc. and GSK Plc. each want to be the first to release their RSV vaccines.
Pfizer and GSK filed applications for US approvals late last year. Pfizer’s RSV vaccine was reported to be 66.7% effective against two or more symptoms in late-stage studies.
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Moderna Inc. said a late-stage study found its experimental messenger RNA vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus was 83.7% effective at preventing at least two symptoms in adults age 60 and older. (Portal/Brian Snyder)
Meanwhile, the antibody treatment Nirsevimab from Sanofi and its partner AstraZeneca Plc has received marketing authorization from the European Commission for the prevention of RSV in newborns and infants. It is currently under review by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Moderna plans to submit its mRNA-1345 vaccine for regulatory approval worldwide in the first half of this year. Company President Stephen Hoge said his vaccine compares well to the experimental Pfizer and GSK shots.
“It’s very exciting to see progress with RSV vaccines in older adults, and I think both vaccines have shown pretty remarkable results as well,” he said. “We really think we’re in this top class – 84% is an excellent efficacy number.”
There is currently no adult vaccine on the market, but Moderna, Pfizer Inc. and GSK Plc. each want to be the first to release their RSV vaccines.
According to Cowen analyst Tyler Van Buren, the RSV vaccine market could be worth more than $10 billion worldwide, and half of that would come from the United States
Approximately 37,000 participants aged 60 and over took part in the Moderna study. Data analysis was performed after 64 participants became infected with RSV. Moderna said it intends to release the full data at a medical meeting.
Hoge said the company has begun a secondary analysis of the vaccine’s effectiveness against more serious illnesses and hospitalizations and that it is too early to give a potential price range for the vaccine. The vaccine is to be administered annually.
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RSV, the flu, and the coronavirus all surged in the US and Europe this fall. (AP)
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The vaccine was generally found to be safe, with the most common side effects being pain at the injection site, fatigue and headache. Hoge said the company has no concerns about myocarditis, a type of heart inflammation linked to mRNA COVID vaccines.
Portal contributed to this report.