> Moderna is starting development on an omicron-specific vaccine
Also the Novavax producers.
RSS feeds hours ago were full of "ready in 100 days" expressions; as I am making posts-vetting checks on search engines I am seeing one «would have the shot ready for testing and manufacturing in the next few weeks» (https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/novavax-tes...).
The headline is slightly misleading if only because it's so vague, which is why this is out today:
"Moderna says it’s working on Covid booster shot for variant in South Africa, says current vaccine provides some protection"
"The company’s researchers said its current coronavirus vaccine appears to work against the two highly transmissible strains found in the U.K. and South Africa, although it looks like it may be less effective against the latter."
> Moderna was the first vaccine to enter clinical trials back in March. Only 63 days after the genetic sequence of the virus was posted online, the company injected the first volunteer with their candidate. They were able to move so quickly because they used a gene-based technology to create their vaccine. Those types of vaccines are relatively simple to create once researchers know the viral gene they’re trying to target.
> Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine was built using the same method. The two are made from tiny pieces of mRNA, which gives the human body instructions to produce copies of the coronavirus spike protein. Then, the immune system learns to defend against that protein. Gene-based vaccines are the long-promised future of vaccine development, but they’ve never been approved for use in people by the Food and Drug Administration. The early successes of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are a promising sign for the method.
And of course, being in the middle of a pandemic 'helps', in terms of funding, clearing red tape, and also seeing results in testing (with so many people being infected, you can start to see differences between placebo and not-placebo groups much more quickly).
- They've been around almost 10 years but have never had a drug make it to Phase 3 let alone gain FDA approval.
- No company has ever created an mRNA virus for use in humans that was FDA approved.
- Long history of secrecy and not publishing peer-reviewed results.
- They started work on this vaccine in January, had it ready to start Phase 1 in March, and now are releasing (partial, non-peer reviewed) results showing damn near a 100% effectiveness in creating neutralizing antibodies with minimal mild side effects.
- Combine all that with the timing of their financing and relationship between their board and the Trump admin.
The Guardian (British): "This is the case for Moderna and another Boston company, CureVac, both of which are building Covid-19 vaccines out of messenger RNA."
So now it's a Boston company? According to Wikipedia the one in Boston is just a subsidiary.
"The Moderna vaccine is also known as “mRNA-1273”, but appears to lack a brand name other than “Moderna COVID-19 vaccine” which is what it says on the product label"
If they said they people will need a new vaccine (which with the current mRNA tech will be relatively quick), I can imagine a similar comment pointing out suspicion that they want to sell something new.
Doesn’t make sense for them to market the current vaccine as still working if it’s not. Eventually more real world data will be coming in and it’s not something to easily hide from.
> Moderna’s potential vaccine to prevent Covid-19 produced neutralizing antibodies in all 45 patients in its early stage human trial, according to newly released data.
> Earlier Tuesday, Moderna announced it would begin its late-stage trial for its vaccine on July 27. The trial will enroll 30,000 participants across 87 locations, according to ClinicalTrials.gov. Participants in the experimental arm will receive a 100 microgram dose of the potential vaccine on the first day and another 29 days later. Some patients will also receive a placebo.
My thoughts exactly. According to the Moderna pipeline [0], they're already on phase II trials for their cancer vaccine, which to me seems much more exciting than a proof-of-concept if that's what this is.
That article seems to just assume that Moderna are acting in bad faith there, without a lot of evidence. Certainly if they wanted to be obstructive they still could be, but the article-writer doesn't prove it either way.
I'd be interested to know if that's been tested. For example, have any other companies or countries proposed making the Moderna vaccine at all? And what happened? Co-operation? Grudging support? Full-on obstruction?
There's nothing quiet about it - Moderna has already publicly announced[1] that they're nearly ready to take their Omicron booster to clinical trials.
1. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/...
reply