Moderna hopes to bring to market a Combination booster dose of the COVID-19, flu, and RSV vaccine – a common respiratory virus – as late as the fall of 2023, CEO Stéphane Bancel said on Monday.
Bansel, speaking at a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum, he said that the combination vaccine will allow people to receive broad protection against diseases caused by respiratory viruses ahead of the winter flu season without having to get multiple vaccines.
«Our goal is to have an annual dose so that we don’t run into compliance issues where people don’t want to get two or three doses in the winter,» said Bansel. «The best-case scenario would be the fall of 2023.».
He told investors last September that Moderna was working on a booster shot vaccine that would combine the mRNA vaccine for COVID-19, a vaccine it is developing against the flu, and possibly a dose for treating respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
The COVID booster shot is currently in Phase 3 trials, he said during the panel discussion, while the flu vaccine under development—which also uses mRNA technology—is expected to move into Phase II in the second quarter. Investors sold off Moderna shares following a December update showing that antibody levels against all four influenza virus strains in an early-stage study were not as strong inelderly as those of an existing flu vaccine from Sanofi.
Moderna plans to ship 2 to 3 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines this year, Bancel confirmed, following 807 million doses in 2021. The company is currently in discussions with health officials regarding the composition of the COVID-19 vaccine doses to be used this fall.
