Moderna says vaccine is 84% ​​effective against respiratory syncytial virus symptoms in older adults

Pharmaceuticals Moderna said on Tuesday that its experimental messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was 83.7% effective in an advanced-stage test at preventing at least two symptoms, such as coughing and fever, in adults aged 60 years or older.

RSV, which produces cold-like symptoms but can be fatal for young children and older adults, causes about 14,000 deaths a year in people age 65 and older. The disease has increased in the United States and Europe, along with the flu and Covid-19.

There is currently no vaccine for the virus in adults. Pharmaceuticals Moderna, Pfizer and GSK are racing to get their RSV vaccines to market.

Pfizer and GSK filed applications for regulatory approval in the US late last year. Pfizer’s RSV vaccine was found to be 66.7% effective against two or more symptoms in late-stage trials.

Moderna said it intends to submit its vaccine, mRNA-1345, for regulatory approval globally later this year.

Moderna President Stephen Hoge told Reuters that its vaccine appears to compare favorably with experimental vaccines from Pfizer and GSK.

“It’s really exciting to see progress on RSV vaccines in older adults, and I think both have shown remarkable results,” said Hoge. “We really think we’re in that upper class; 84% is an excellent efficacy number.”

The RSV vaccine market could be worth more than $10 billion globally, half of which would come from the United States, according to Cowen analyst Tyler Van Buren.

Moderna’s study was conducted with about 37,000 participants age 60 and older. Data analysis was performed after 64 participants contracted RSV. The company plans to release the complete data at a medical meeting.

Hoge said Moderna has begun secondary analyzes of the vaccine’s effectiveness against more severe illness and hospitalization. He said it was too early to give a possible price range for the vaccine, which would have to be administered annually.

The most common side effects of immunizer are pain at the injection site, fatigue and headache. Hoge said there were no concerns about myocarditis — a type of heart inflammation linked to mRNA Covid vaccines.