September 13, 2023 – Moderna announced Wednesday that its experimental mRNA-based flu vaccine produces a greater immune response against 4 strains of influenza than the currently approved flu vaccine called Fluarix.
As for uncomfortable side effects, Moderna said in a Press release that the protection results were just like those of previous studies, which found that essentially the most common reactions were muscle aches, headaches, fatigue, pain and swelling.
The success of Phase 3 clinical trials of the experimental vaccine called mRNA-1010 means Moderna may submit it to federal regulators soon, although the vaccine won't make it through the approval pipeline within the U.S. in time for the 2023-24 flu season. CNN reported.
Moderna, which developed considered one of two widely used COVID-19 vaccines, also said it expects the FDA to rule 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 results, as well as previous Covid and RSV results, we are now three-for-three to advance respiratory disease programs to positive Phase 3 data.”
A flu vaccine using mRNA technology could possibly be produced more quickly than current seasonal flu vaccines, making it easier to adapt a vaccine to combat ever-changing flu strains.
Conventional vaccines use killed or weakened bacteria to trigger an immune response in our bodies. In mRNA vaccines – messenger RNA – genetically modified 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 shot failed to provide a robust immune response against all flu strains, so the corporate reformulated the vaccine.