Scientists have experimented with mRNA for decades, but the pandemic foisted the platform into the limelight. The Pfizer-BioNTech (NYSE:PFE/NSDQ:BNTX) and Moderna (NSDQ:MRNA) COVID-19 vaccines have since emerged as two of the best-selling pharmaceutical products in recent memory. Researchers are now exploring dozens of new possibilities for the mRNA platform. Here, we summarize several areas where…
Pfizer and BioNTech set their sights on developing mRNA-based shingles vaccine
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and mRNA vaccine specialist BioNTech SE (NSDQ:BNTX) will collaborate to develop an mRNA-based vaccine to prevent the herpes zoster virus (shingles). Roughly one million people in the U.S. get shingles each year, according to the CDC. Currently, the two-dose Shingrix shingles vaccine from GSK (NYSE:GSK) is the only such product available in the U.S. market.…
Shingles vaccination may lower risk of severe COVID-19, study finds
A large retrospective study found that a recombinant adjuvanted zoster vaccine was associated with a 32% reduced risk of COVID-19-associated hospitalization. The study, published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, also found that individuals who received at least one dose of the Shingrix vaccine were 16% less likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19 during the trial…
ACIP votes unanimously backs GSK’s shingles vaccine Shingrix for immunocompromised adults 19 and older
CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) unanimously recommended two doses of GlaxoSmithKline’s (NYSE:GSK) Shingrix (a recombinant adjuvanted zoster vaccine) for adults 19 and older with immunodeficiency or immunosuppression as a result of disease or therapy. CDC considers Shingrix to be an adult vaccine, and its recommendation is for the adult immunization schedule, which begins…
mRNA vaccine led to shingles in a handful of immunocompromised patients
A group of researchers in Israel has concluded that an mRNA-based vaccine could activate herpes zoster (shingles) in a limited number of people with rheumatic diseases. The viral infection, which can cause a painful rash, is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which is also responsible for chickenpox. In a study focusing on individuals with autoimmune…