Moderna says booster targeting Omicron outperformed current vaccine
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Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) announced on Wednesday that its Omicron-containing COVID booster candidate demonstrated a superior neutralizing antibody response against the new variant compared to its original vaccine one month after administration.
The booster candidate named mRNA-1273.214 has met all primary endpoints in a Phase 2/3 trial at a 50 Âµg dose compared to the 50 Âµg booster dose of mRNA-1273, the vaccine currently authorized in the U.S. as Spikevax.

A booster dose of mRNA-1273.214 has also led to a nearly eight-fold rise in the neutralizing antibody levels against Omicron from the baseline.
According to Moderna (MRNA), a booster shot of mRNA-1273.214 was generally well-tolerated among 437 study participants, with a side effect profile comparable to the mRNA-1273 booster shot.
The company plans to submit preliminary data to regulators in the coming weeks in preparation for a fall booster campaign with the candidate. 
With its 1Q 2022 financials, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech reaffirmed the 2022 advance purchase agreements it signed for the COVID-19 vaccine, at approximately $21B.