Complementary mAb Polishing Solutions for Viral Clearance and Aggregate Removal - Register Now!
|Articles|September 9, 2021

Moderna to Develop Combined COVID-19/Flu Vaccine

Moderna’s new single-dose vaccine will be a booster for both COVID-19 and the flu.

Moderna announced on Sept. 9, 2021, that the company will develop a single-dose vaccine, the mRNA-1073, which is designed as a booster for both COVID-19 and the flu. Additionally, they announced the mRNA-1365 development candidate, a pediatric vaccine designed to fight syncytial virus and human metapneumovirus.

The announcement was part of an overview provided to investors at their virtual R&D day, which discussed programs they currently have in development. Other projects that were discussed include an Epstein-Barr virus prophylactic vaccine and a personalized cancer vaccine.

“Today we are announcing the first step in our novel respiratory vaccine program with the development of a single-dose vaccine that combines a booster against COVID-19 and a booster against flu,” said Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, in a company press release. “We are making progress on enrolling patients in our rare disease programs, and we are fully enrolled in our personalized cancer vaccine trial. We believe this is just the beginning of a new age of information-based medicines.”

Discussions have been swirling about the necessity of COVID-19 booster shots. The US Department of Human Health & Services stated on Aug. 18, 2021 that they felt booster shots would soon become necessary. Others, such as Tedros Adlhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general, World Health Organization, felt it was more pressing to get initial vaccine doses to countries with minimal vaccine exposure.

Source: Moderna


Related to this article

Stainless steel bioreactor vessels in a manufacturing facility. | Image Credit: © Corona Borealis - stock.adobe.com
Four cell therapy developers have pulled back from ex vivo manufacturing in the past month — ArsenalBio, TScan Therapeutics, and Cellectis all pivoted to in vivo approaches, while Bristol Myers Squibb terminated its manufacturing partnership with automation specialist Cellares after determining its platform couldn't meet requirements for commercial Breyanzi production, triggering layoffs.