WASHINGTON, Feb 25, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – US biotech firm Moderna said
Wednesday that doses of its new Covid-19 vaccine candidate aimed at the South
African coronavirus variant had been shipped to the US National Institutes of
Health for testing.
“We look forward to beginning the clinical study of our variant booster
and are grateful for the NIH’s continued collaboration to combat this
pandemic,” said CEO Stephane Bancel.
The South African variant is considered among the more dangerous of
current mutations because it evades some of the blocking action of antibodies
that target the older coronavirus strain.
That means people who were infected with the classic strain are more
susceptible to reinfection, and research has also shown the variant has
partly reduced the protection of the current generation of vaccines.
While initial testing has shown that Moderna’s original vaccine — called
mRNA-1273 — remains effective against emerging variants, the company said it
was pursuing the development of a variant-specific vaccine as part of a
number of strategies being considered.
Either a South Africa variant-specific candidate, called mRNA-1273.351,
could be used as a booster, or the company might use a booster that combines
the classic vaccine with the variant-specific mRNA-1273.351 to create a new
product.
Another idea is that people could receive a third dose of the classic
vaccine to raise their overall immunity.
Moderna is also looking at the possibility of using the South Africa
variant-specific mRNA-1273.351 or the combination shot as the primary dose.
The US Food and Drug Administration announced Monday that drug makers
developing variant-specific vaccines wouldn’t need to go through the same
lengthy authorization process they had to for their original shots.
Moderna also announced it was raising its global manufacturing capacity
and would be able to produce up to 1.4 billion doses of its vaccine in 2022
if needed.
Additionally, it said it was increasing its plan for 2021 manufacturing
from 600 million doses to 700 million doses globally. Moderna has so far
shipped 60 million doses, 55 million within the US.