Good afternoon! Vaccine makers have set their eyes on the next big thing: Developing combination shots targeting both Covid and the flu.
As Covid vaccination rates in the U.S. dwindle, Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax, among other companies, hope that more convenient combo shots offering protection against two viruses rather than one will increase uptake among Americans. Some health experts have cast doubt on that belief, CNBC previously reported.
Still, combo jabs may also reduce the burden that respiratory viruses – which typically spread at the same time each year – put on pharmacists and the broader U.S. health-care system.
The race to develop those jabs is heating up, as all three companies test their respective vaccines in mid or late-stage trials.
But Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech faced a setback last week, which may allow rival Moderna to pull ahead.
Pfizer on Friday said its messenger RNA-based vaccine that combines its approved Covid shot with an experimental flu shot failed to meet one of the main goals of a phase three trial on more than 8,000 adults, potentially jeopardizing the jab's future.
The vaccine produced a more effective immune response against influenza A strain than a licensed flu vaccine and was as effective against Covid as Pfizer's existing product. But the shot showed a weaker immune response against another strain called influenza B compared to the licensed flu vaccine.
Pfizer and BioNTech will consider adjustments to the combo shot and "discuss next steps with health authorities," according to a release.
"We remain optimistic about our combination COVID-19 and influenza program, for which we are evaluating the next steps," said Annaliesa Anderson, Pfizer's head of vaccine research and development, in the release.
Mikael Dolsten, Pfizer's outgoing chief scientific officer, said at a conference in March that the company hopes to launch its combination shot in 2025. It's unclear whether Friday's results change that timeline.
If it does, that could be good news for Moderna. The biotech company's mRNA-based combination shot succeeded in a late-stage trial in June, showing higher immune responses than existing standalone shots for Covid and the flu.
Moderna plans to file for regulatory approval for that shot and hopes it can enter the market in 2025.
"Failure of this [Pfizer and BioNTech] combo vaccine study puts [Moderna] in the lead in the mRNA combo vaccine development," Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger said in a note on Friday, adding that Pfizer's "update incrementally improves the odds that [Moderna's shot] could be the first commercially available combo mRNA vaccine."
Pfizer's stumble could also be good news for Novavax and Sanofi, which partnered earlier this year to develop protein-based combination Covid and flu shots. In May, Sanofi, a top flu shot maker, agreed to pay Novavax up to $1.2 billion up front and future milestones in part to work on combining the companies' vaccines.
Still, there is a chance that Pfizer could make the right tweaks to its vaccine to get it back on track toward regulatory approval. For example, Moderna's initial standalone flu vaccine similarly failed to show an immune response as effective as an approved vaccine against influenza B before the company made adjustments to overcome that setback.
We'll be watching closely for any updates in the combination shot space, so stay tuned.
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