mRNA flu shots move into trials

by prckov 14/4/2022, 11:35

mRNA flu shots move into trials (nature.com)

Hot off the successful deployment of mRNA vaccines for the prevention of COVID-19, three leading drugmakers have moved seasonal flu vaccine candidates built with the technology into early clinical testing. More companies intend to follow their leads next year (Table 1).
These candidates, if successful, could dramatically bolster the efficacy of a vaccine class that often delivers lacklustre protection. For mRNA’s proponents — led by Moderna, Pfizer and Sanofi, all of which initiated phase I trials in recent months — new flu jabs could prove lucrative or help maintain standing in a global market projected to exceed US$10 billion by decade’s end
But flu shots could also prove a more challenging test for mRNA than did COVID-19. That’s because unlike with SARS-CoV-2 — for which there were no established medical interventions — nine flu jabs from four different vaccine manufacturers are already available in the United States alone.
Those vaccines are safe, but their efficacy leaves room for improvement. Existing flu shots, whether built around inactivated viruses or recombinant proteins, typically offer only 40–60% protection from infection. In theory, mRNA might make for a better product: elicited immune responses may be broader, expressed proteins should have better sequence fidelity, strain selection may be more accurate and the technology makes it easy to incorporate large numbers of antigens. All of these features could translate into greater immune protection.
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by prckov 14/4/2022, 11:44

[size=42]This Shouldn’t Happen”: Inside the Virus-Hunting Nonprofit at the Center of the Lab-Leak Controversy[/size]

Inside the Virus-Hunting Nonprofit at the Center of the Lab-Leak Controversy | Vanity Fair

Chasing scientific renown, grant dollars, and approval from Dr. Anthony Fauci, Peter Daszak transformed the environmental nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance into a government-funded sponsor of risky, cutting-edge virus research in both the U.S. and Wuhan, China. Drawing on more than 100,000 leaked documents, a V.F. investigation shows how an organization dedicated to preventing the next pandemic found itself suspected of helping start one.

by prckov 14/4/2022, 11:49

by prckov 14/4/2022, 11:58

As for transparency-minded scientists in the U.S., Daszak early on set about covertly organizing a letter in the Lancet medical journal that sought to present the lab-leak hypothesis as a groundless and destructive conspiracy theory. And Fauci and a small group of scientists, including Andersen and Garry, worked to enshrine the natural-origin theory during confidential discussions in early February 2020, even though several of them privately expressed that they felt a lab-related incident was likelier.

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mRNA flu shots move into trials

mRNA flu shots move into trials

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