Drug Discovery and Development

Pfizer-BioNTech omicron-based vaccine may be delayed

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Pfizer-BioNTechPfizer (NYSE:PFE) and its partner BioNTech SE (NSDQ:BNTX) have launched a clinical trial to test an omicron-specific version of their COVID-19 vaccine.

The two companies initially vowed to launch the updated vaccine by the end of March, but that goal may shift depending on the volume of clinical data regulators demand, according to BioNTech.

In the meantime, a number of countries have begun administering a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose to immunocompromised individuals. In addition, Israel and Denmark have started offering a fourth dose to the public.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has stated it wants to see data showing that updated vaccines lead to higher neutralizing antibody levels than first-generation vaccines while potentially bolstering the protection against emerging variants.

Moderna is also working on an omicron-specific vaccine, but it won’t likely be available until August.

 

Filed Under: Infectious Disease
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About The Author

Brian Buntz

As the pharma and biotech editor at WTWH Media, Brian has almost two decades of experience in B2B media, with a focus on healthcare and technology. While he has long maintained a keen interest in AI, more recently Brian has made making data analysis a central focus, and is exploring tools ranging from NLP and clustering to predictive analytics.

Throughout his 18-year tenure, Brian has covered an array of life science topics, including clinical trials, medical devices, and drug discovery and development. Prior to WTWH, he held the title of content director at Informa, where he focused on topics such as connected devices, cybersecurity, AI and Industry 4.0. A dedicated decade at UBM saw Brian providing in-depth coverage of the medical device sector. Engage with Brian on LinkedIn or drop him an email at [email protected].

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