Moderna says updated COVID booster outperformed against new Omicron variants
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images News


Disclosing new clinical data for its Omicron-adjusted shot, Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) announced on Monday that the bivalent Omicron (BA.1) booster candidate outperformed the current vaccine against the subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.
The experimental vaccine named mRNA-1273.214 is one of the two bivalent candidates the company is advancing for the fall booster campaign.

According to data, a 50Âµg booster dose of mRNA-1273.214 led to significantly higher neutralizing antibody responses against BA.4 and BA.5 compared to current booster mRNA-1273 in previously vaccinated and boosted participants regardless of prior infection status or age.
One month after administration, those who received mRNA-1273.214 and mRNA-1273 boosters were found to have BA.4/5 neutralizing titers of 776 and 458, respectively.
Moderna (MRNA) has submitted the data for publication in a peer-reviewed journal and has shared the results with regulators. 
Moderna (MRNA) is developing another bivalent vaccine candidate named mRNA 1273.222 updated for BA.4/5 strain in line with the recent FDA advice on the composition of vaccines for the fall booster campaign.