As vaccine-makers race to show promising results for their updated, omicron-targeted vaccines set to debut this fall, Moderna forged ahead to prove its candidate is nearly twice as effective as its original vaccine.
In a phase 3 trial, Moderna's updated vaccine candidate increased neutralizing antibody titers 6.3-fold against omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, while its original vaccine increased neutralizing antibody titers 3.5-fold, according to a July 11 press release.
Moderna said it shared the data with regulators and is awaiting peer-review for publication.
Before BA.5 quickly became dominant in the U.S. and accounted for more than half of reported COVID-19 cases, the FDA instructed vaccine manufacturers to focus on sister variants BA.4 and BA.5.
The company is currently testing two bivalent vaccines, which both have 25 micrograms of Moderna's original, already authorized vaccine and 25 micrograms of an omicron subvariant, and already started production on millions of doses.