Moderna, which developed one of the first messenger RNA vaccines against covid-19, released preliminary positive results Tuesday for a trial of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which causes bronchiolitis, in the elderly.
This Phase 3 trial is being conducted double-blind in 37,000 people aged 60 years and older in 22 countries, including the United States. Based on interim data, the potential mRNA vaccine was almost 84% effective and well-tolerated. Of 64 cases of patients with the virus, who presented two or more symptoms, 55 were in the placebo group compared to 9 in the vaccinated group, indicates the US laboratory.
30,000 deaths per year in elderly patients
The Boston-area based biotech now intends to file its application for regulatory clearance in multiple regions, including Europe, by mid-2023, for a possible market launch in winter 2023. 24.
RSV is one of the viruses that causes bronchiolitis, a disease that mainly affects babies. But it can also affect the elderly, for whom no vaccine is marketed. Thus, approximately 5.2 million cases occur each year among people aged 60 and over in developed countries, causing 500,000 annual hospitalizations.
Every year, the virus causes 30,000 deaths among elderly patients in rich countries, Dr. Paul Burton, Moderna’s chief medical officer, told AFP: “This disease has a high cost that has been underestimated,” he continues. The number of doses potentially required has not yet been determined.
Phase one clinical trial in children
“A large proportion of RSV-related deaths are in low-income countries, where access to care is limited,” said Abdullah Baqui, a professor at Johns Hopkins University who was the main instigator of the trial.
The vaccine is currently in phase 1 clinical trials in children. Messenger RNA technology has proven to be key in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and is seen as promising in the fight against many other diseases.
Moderna is not the only laboratory that has embarked on the fight against RSV. The European Union approved in early November a preventive treatment for bronchiolitis developed jointly by AstraZeneca and Sanofi. Nirsevimab is not strictly a vaccine but works with the same preventive intention.
The American group Pfizer, for its part, recently announced the positive results of a trial on a vaccine – administered to the mother during pregnancy – intended to protect newborns from severe forms of bronchiolitis. Pfizer is also developing an RSV vaccine for people 60 and older, currently under review by US health authorities.
Source: BFM TV
