Moderna reports promising results from flu vaccine test

Moderna revealed Wednesday that its flu vaccine using mRNA technology has offered promising results as the flu season begins to ramp up.

Moderna announced that its seasonal flu vaccine “demonstrated an acceptable safety and tolerability profile” in all clinical trials, including its three Phase 3 trials. The company said that an improved immune response was observed in all age groups, including older adults.

Moderna said it will keep advancing a number of flu vaccine candidates that will include a range of antigens to target the influenza A strains that are starting to circulate.

“Our mRNA platform is working. With today’s positive Phase 3 flu results, along with previous results in COVID and RSV, we are now three for three on advancing respiratory disease programs to positive Phase 3 data,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said.

The company also said that its COVID-19 vaccine demonstrated an antibody response against current strains of the virus. This comes as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have been on the rise as summer draws to a close.

It also said it will use the mRNA technology to launch more products in the future that may have the “potential for clinical benefit in cancer.”

“In the near term, we look forward to product launches in our oncology, latent, rare and infectious disease franchises,” Bancel said. “In the fourth quarter of this year, we also expect to provide data on our next-generation COVID and flu combination, mRNA-1083, and additional efficacy analysis on our Phase 2 INT study. With significant momentum across the business and our pipeline, we are excited by the near future and focused on execution.”