Moderna's new respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine was found to be roughly 84% effective in preventing the disease in older adults, causing the company's stocks to surge hours after the announcement.
Officials said that the newest vaccine was effective at preventing lower respiratory tract disease, which is defined as two or more symptoms, in people aged 60 and older, based on data retrieved by the Boston biotech company. It was also found to be 82.4% effective in preventing lower respiratory tract disease with three or more symptoms.
Moderna's New RSV Vaccine
Furthermore, Moderna said that no safety concerns were identified during the clinical trial of the new RSV vaccine. The company added that the safety and efficacy data acquired from the trial will later be published in a peer-reviewed journal. The study itself enrolled roughly 37,000 people across 22 countries.
The pharmaceutical company also said that it was planning to file an application for approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the new vaccine in the first half of this year. Currently, there are no FDA-approved RSV vaccines in the world, as per CNBC.
In extended trading following the announcement of the new RSV vaccine's efficacy, Moderna's stocks rose nearly 7%. The vaccine comes as RSV infections are known to kill between 6,000 and 10,000 older adults annually and are the cause of 60,000 to 120,000 hospitalizations as revealed by data from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
An unusually severe RSV season was experienced in the United States in the fall that affected young children and older adults. It came at a time when the public has already stopped practicing public health measures as a whole, including masking and social distancing.
Moderna's newest RSV vaccine also utilizes the same mRNA technology that was used in the coronavirus vaccines. The latter turned the pharmaceutical company into a global powerhouse and delivered windfall profits. But it remains the company's only commercially available product and demand is now waning.
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Effective at Preventing Disease in Older Adults
On the other hand, Pfizer Inc and GSK Plc are also in the race to get their RSV vaccines to the market. The two companies have already filed applications for U.S. regulatory approval late last year. The former's RSV vaccine was found to be 66.7% effective against two or more symptoms in late-stage trials, according to Yahoo News.
Sanofi and partner AstraZeneca Plc's antibody treatment known as nirsevimab has received the European Commission's marketing authorization for the prevention of RSV among newborns and infants. Currently, it is under review by the FDA.
Moderna's president, Stephen Hoge, said that the vaccine appeared to compare favorably to the experimental Pfizer and GSK shots. He added that it was very exciting to observe the progress in RSV vaccines in older adults.
The CEO of the company, Stephane Bancel, added that the data they observed were encouraging and represent the second demonstration of positive phase 3 trial results from their mRNA infectious disease vaccine platform. It comes after Spikevax, which is their coronavirus vaccine, said Benzinga.
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