After raking in $17.7 billion last year from the anti-COVID-19 vaccine Spikevax, Moderna is preparing to launch several new vaccines between 2023 and 2026.
Posted at 5:25 p.m.
The American pharmaceutical company, which recently announced the construction of a vaccine factory in Laval, revealed yesterday that it has no less than 34 experimental vaccines in its portfolio of products under development.
All, except one, are designed on “messenger RNA” technology, the same as the anti-COVID-19 vaccine which will be manufactured at the Laval plant as soon as it is approved by Health-Canada and the FDA.
Flu, cancer, herpes
Most new products target respiratory diseases, but Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel told an investor conference that some vaccines, which are still far from being developed, target diseases like herpes transmitted to newborns and a type of skin cancer.
From next year, the Cambridge company, near Boston, will continue to launch improved versions of the Spikevax vaccine, to adjust it to the variants of COVID-19 that appear here and there (including Omicron in its various mutations) .
A disruptive vaccine for the market
Moderna expects its next big commercial success to be its flu vaccine, which would compete with those already on the market. The experimental vaccine is in advanced clinical trials (“phase III”) in Australia and Argentina (it is winter in the southern hemisphere). A sign that Moderna wants to snatch sales from the competition, the company will also launch another phase III clinical trial in North America, this time to measure it against a competing vaccine already on the market.
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said during yesterday’s conference that he hopes for results in early 2023. If they live up to expectations, the flu vaccine could be launched in time for the season. vaccination, in the fall of 2023.
PHOTO KARENE-ISABELLE JEAN-BAPTISTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel
Messenger RNA vaccines can be adjusted more quickly than conventional vaccines, an advantage when an unexpected flu variant emerges during the winter.
Currently, the dominant player in the sector in Canada is the British company GSK, which has a flu vaccine factory in Sainte-Foy.
The French company Sanofi has been building a large factory in Toronto since last year at a cost of 965 million dollars (including 415 million provided by Ottawa and 55 million by Ontario).
A double punch
Moderna is also working on a dual flu and COVID-19 vaccine, currently in Phase I/II clinical trials.
As the company is also preparing a vaccine against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) — a respiratory disease that causes bronchiolitis — it is also planning a triple vaccine that would protect against influenza, COVID-19 and RSV.
There is currently no vaccine against RSV. Moderna’s experimental vaccine has just entered clinical trials.
Most of the other vaccines in development target respiratory diseases, which are often rare.
Moderna’s CEO hinted indirectly at the future plant in Laval, as well as those announced in the UK and Kenya. “We are investing in preparation for other launches and we are investing in production capacity” so that we can meet the expected demand, he said.
Moderna does not expect to sell as many COVID-19 vaccines in 2022 as it did last year ($17.7 billion), Bancel said. He estimates that Spikevax revenues will not reach $13 billion and could be as low as $5.2 billion, depending on the evolution of the pandemic and the level of public adherence to vaccination recommendations.