September 13, 2023 – Moderna announced Wednesday that its experimental mRNA-based flu vaccine produces a greater immune response against 4 strains of flu than the currently approved flu vaccine, called Fluarix.
Regarding unwanted effects, Moderna said in a Press release that the protection results were consistent with those of previous studies, through which muscle aches, headaches, fatigue, pain and swelling were essentially the most common reactions.
The success of Phase 3 clinical trials of the experimental vaccine, called mRNA-1010, means Moderna could soon submit its application to U.S. federal regulators. However, the vaccine is unlikely to satisfy approval requirements in time for the 2023-2024 U.S. flu season, CNN reported.
Moderna, which developed one among the 2 widely used vaccines against COVID-19, also expects the FDA to make a call on the corporate's mRNA-based RSV vaccine for adults 60 and older by April.
“Our mRNA platform works,” Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said within the press release. “With today's positive Phase 3 influenza study results, as well as previous results in Covid and RSV, we have now advanced three of three respiratory disease programs to positive Phase 3 data.”
A flu vaccine based on mRNA technology could possibly be produced more quickly than current seasonal flu vaccines, making it easier to search out a vaccine for the ever-changing flu strains.
Conventional vaccines use dead or weakened bacteria to trigger an immune response in our bodies. In mRNA vaccines – messenger RNA – genetically engineered molecules stimulate an individual's immune system to provide antibodies that attack and destroy a virus.
CNN reported that an earlier version of Moderna's experimental flu vaccine didn’t produce a robust immune response against all flu viruses, so the corporate reformulated the vaccine.