Moderna starts phase 3 study of messenger RNA-based RSV vaccine
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Moderna announced Tuesday that it has initiated a phase 3 study of its investigational messenger RNA-based vaccine for RSV.
Moderna is one of several companies exploring the use of mRNA technology — so successful in COVID-19 vaccine development — for other long-time vaccine targets, including RSV.
The company is also testing an mRNA vaccine against influenza and has said that its ultimate goal is to create combination vaccines that protect against several respiratory viruses, including influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and RSV.
The newly announced phase 3 study, called ConquerRSV, will enroll around 34,000 adults aged 60 years or older from multiple countries.
"Respiratory syncytial virus is one of the most widespread respiratory viruses, causing severe disease and hospitalization in older adults, and yet there is no vaccine available on the market," Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel, MSc, MBA, said in a press release.
"We believe that our vaccine candidate against RSV has the potential to protect against over 1 million infections globally each year, improving quality of life for those at high risk of becoming infected and reducing the burden on health care systems,” Bancel said.
Moderna said an independent data and safety monitoring board endorsed the start of the phase 3 trial based on preliminary phase 2 safety and tolerability data.
RSV is common and usually causes mild illness but can be serious, especially in infants and older adults, the CDC notes.
After a deadly vaccine failure in the 1960s led to decades of inaction in RSV vaccine research, experts have been hopeful recently that development is picking up.
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