Moderna, a Massachusetts-based company that manufactures one of two COVID-19 vaccines approved for both initial COVID-19 vaccine sequences and booster shots in the U.S., announced Tuesday that its new “bivalent” booster provides better protection against COVID-19 than its earlier options.
“Bivalent” vaccines work by stimulating an immune response against two different antigens, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said data shows that a 50-microgram dose of its bivalent mRNA-1273.211 vaccine “induced higher antibody response” than an earlier booster “even when additional variants of concern were not included.”
“We are pleased with these data for our first bivalent booster candidate, mRNA-1273.211. We believe that these results validate our bivalent strategy, which we announced and began pursuing in February 2021,” said Bancel.
The booster candidate includes nine spike protein mutations found in the beta variant of concern, and some that have also been persistent in the omicron variant. Per the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, the BA.2 subvariant of omicron is the currently the most common cause of COVID-19 in the U.S.
So far, it has demonstrated “superiority” against beta, delta and omicron one month after administration and continued superiority for six months for beta and omicron. In addition to being effective against multiple variants, Moderna said the new booster “is generally well tolerated,” in a study of 300 participants who received the 50-microgram dose and 595 patients who received a 100-microgram dose.
“Our latest bivalent booster candidate, mRNA-1273.214, which combines the currently authorized Moderna COVID-19 booster with our omicron-specific booster candidate, remains our lead candidate for the fall 2022 Northern Hemisphere booster,” Bancel said of another bivalent booster candidate that includes 32 mutations based on the omicron variant.
He said the company plans to share data about that booster later on in the second quarter and that Moderna believes “a bivalent booster vaccine, if authorized, would create a new tool as we continue to respond to emerging variants.”
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