Moderna Begins Trials Of A New Generation Of COVID-19 Vaccine, Targeting South African Mutation
JAKARTA - The COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer Moderna Inc. announced on Monday that they have given the initial dose of the new COVID-19 vaccine candidate to the first participant in the initial study phase.
This new generation of COVID-19 vaccine is projected to be stored and sent in a refrigerator, no longer using the freezer as it is today.
Moderna said their new COVID-19 vaccine candidate could facilitate distribution, especially in developing countries where supply chain problems could hinder vaccination efforts, as reported by Reuters.
"The initial study will assess the safety and immunogenicity of the next generation vaccine, designated as mRNA-1283, at three dose levels, and will be given to healthy adults either as a single dose or in two doses with an interval of 28 days", the company said in the description.
Moderna also plans to evaluate a new vaccine, mRNA-1283, as a potential booster shot in future research.
Last week, Moderna began dosing the first participant in a study testing a candidate for a COVID-19 vaccine booster targeting the mutation, known as B.1.351, which first emerged in South Africa.
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The South African mutation of COVOD-19 has attracted people's attention, because it is easier to infect, and has the ability to lower levels of neutralizing antibodies in a laboratory trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
The booster vaccine candidate, named mRNA-1273,351, will be tested in a trial of variant-specific injections and multivalent injections, according to the company announcement.