Moderna says Covid vaccine 93% effective six months after second dose
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Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine remains 93 per cent effective six months after the second dose, the US drugmaker said, as sales of the jab helped lift the company to a record quarterly profit.
The company’s coronavirus vaccine generated $4.2bn in second-quarter sales, Moderna said on Thursday, pushing it to a $2.8bn profit, in line with analysts’ expectations, from a $117m loss in the same period last year.
The US drugmaker reiterated its belief that booster shots will be needed later this year, despite the high six-month efficacy of its original two-dose Covid vaccine regimen.
“We believe that the increased force of infection that’s resulting from the Delta variant and the seasonal effects of moving indoors will eventually lead to an increase of breakthrough infections in vaccinated individuals,” said Stephen Hoge, president of Moderna.
He added that a “booster dose is likely to be necessary this fall, particularly in the face of the Delta variant”, which has been blamed for rising infections in some countries, including the US.
Health officials are examining whether booster shots are needed to maintain immunity against the virus. Moderna’s booster trials are using 50mg doses, rather than the 100mg dose used in its original vaccine regimen. Hoge said the company would wait until its 100mg booster trials are complete before it files for regulatory approval.
Pfizer has already said it plans to seek US regulatory approval for a third shot. On Wednesday the World Health Organization called for a pause on offering boosters until more people in developing countries have been vaccinated.
Moderna sold 199m doses of its mRNA vaccine in the three months to June and has signed $20bn worth of Covid-19 vaccine contracts this year, which include sales already made.
Its vaccine has been authorised for use in places including Europe, the US, UK, Japan and Canada.
It expects to produce up to 1bn vaccine doses this year and 3bn in 2022. Stéphane Bancel, chief executive of Moderna, said the drugmaker is now “capacity constrained” for 2021 and will not take new orders.
It has signed some contracts for 2023 and plans to begin a share buyback programme over the next two years for up to $1bn shares.
The biotech has applied for full regulatory approval in the US and expects to complete its submission in August.
Moderna’s shares fell 4 per cent in pre-market trading in New York.