Pfizer Begins Phase 3 Clinical Trial to Evaluate mRNA-Based Influenza Vaccine
Pfizer has announced that the first participants have been dosed in a phase 3 clinical trial evaluating the efficacy, immunogenicity, safety and tolerability of its investigational quadrivalent modified RNA influenza vaccine.
Said Pfizer, mRNA-based vaccines require only the genetic sequences of the viruses, enabling more flexible, rapid manufacturing which may lead to improved strain match, and the potential opportunity to improve upon the efficacy of current flu vaccines.
Currently, the existing flu vaccines typically confer only 40 percent to 60 percent protection, with even lower protection when the vaccine strains poorly match circulating influenza virus strains, said Pfizer, adding that the flu causes 140,000 to 710,000 hospitalizations and 12,000 to 52,000 deaths in the U.S. every year.
The participant population the company seeks to evaluate is approximately 25,000 healthy U.S. adults.
September 15, 2022
