Nicole DeFeudis Editor The European Commission has made a few changes to its vaccine contract with Pfizer and BioNTech, reducing the dose volume while extending the delivery timeline to cope with “evolving public health needs.” The Commission previously struck a contract in May 2021 for 900 million doses, with the option to purchase another 900 million. Of those, 450 million were expected to be delivered in 2023, though an amendment now calls for fewer doses. While neither the Commission nor Pfizer and BioNTech have revealed an exact amount, an unnamed source told Reuters that the amendment reduces the remaining expected doses by about a third. Some member states have opted out of the amendment, and “will continue to be bound by current contractual obligations,” the Commission said. The news comes weeks after the World Health Organization ended its three-year global health emergency for Covid-19, while warning that “the virus is ...
A trial of a new vaccine against meningococcal disease, a cause of meningitis and blood poisoning, has found that it is safe and induces a strong immune response across five strains of meningococcal bacteria: A, C, W, Y and X. The phase 3 trial compared the immune response generated by the new pentavalent vaccine NmCV-5 against that of the licensed quadrivalent MenACWY-D vaccine in 1,800 healthy participants aged 2–29 in Mali and The Gambia. After 28 days, across all ages, the immune responses generated by a single dose of NmCV-5 were generally higher than those generated by MenACWY-D. In addition, NmCV-5 induced a strong immune response to the emerging meningococcal X strain for which there is currently no licensed vaccine. The trial found no safety concerns with NmCV-5. The study, led by a team including researchers from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit, The Gambia, at the London School of ...
Paul Schloesser Associate Editor CureVac is going on the offensive against Pfizer and BioNTech, saying that it will seek to accelerate its litigation around patents related to the manufacture of the Covid-19 vaccine Comirnaty. The German biotech company announced Friday that the case, which originally launched in the US last summer, has been transferred from the federal district court of Massachusetts to the eastern district court in Virginia as part of an effort to speed up the litigation, potentially allowing for a trial as soon as next year. On top of that transfer going through, CureVac filed a 94-page document Friday, filled with a broader counterclaims that say Pfizer and BioNTech infringed on nine of its US patents — eight of which it claims are owned by CureVac and the ninth by CureVac Manufacturing. These patents range from producing mRNA to vaccine design and manufacturing. CureVac first filed a lawsuit ...
As early signs point to a potential resurgence of mpox cases in the U.S. this summer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is rolling out real-world data for Bavarian Nordic’s vaccine and urging at-risk people to take two shots.Bavarian Nordic’s Jynneos, given in two doses, is estimated to be 85.9% effective against mpox, a real-world case-match study conducted in 12 U.S. jurisdictions showed. At one dose, the vaccine was found to be 75.2% effective. The CDC released the results in its new Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). The report comes as a cluster of 21 mpox cases was reported in Chicago, with several diagnoses among those who were vaccinated raising concerns over Jynneos’ efficacy. Although Jynneos’ efficacy may look similar between the partial and full doses in this study of about 900 people, the CDC is still calling for at-risk people to take two doses because the ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s independent panel of advisors Thursday recommended full approval of Pfizer’s vaccine that protects infants from respiratory syncytial virus, but raised safety concerns over premature births that may be tied to the shot. The committee unanimously said the vaccine efficacy data was sufficient. Ten of the advisors said the safety data on Pfizer’s shot was adequate, while four said it was not. “If the vaccine actually lives up to the data we’ve seen today, I can guarantee many infants and their parents will breathe easier in the coming years,” said Dr. Jay Portnoy, medical director at the Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, after voting in favor of the safety and efficacy of the shot. Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said he doesn’t believe there is enough data that indicates the safety of the vaccine is “reassuring.” “If ...
By Brenda Goodman, CNN CNN — Pfizer’s vaccine to protect newborns from respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, by vaccinating their moms late in pregnancy cuts the risk that infants will need to see a doctor or be admitted to the hospital with a moderate to severe infection before 6 months of age, according to a new analysis by government regulators. Many parents have been eagerly anticipating this news, particularly after last year’s long and severe RSV season. RSV is a major cause of hospitalization in infants and the elderly each year, and it typically hits hardest during the winter months. Scientists have been working on an effective RSV for young children for roughly 60 years, so there’s plenty of excitement around the prospect of having a candidate get so close to the finish line. But the news isn’t all rosy. Safety data published in an agency analysis Tuesday also showed ...
Patients are now enrolling in an early stage clinical trial to test a universal flu vaccine based on messenger RNA technology, the National Institutes of Health announced Monday. Scientists hope the vaccine will protect against a wide variety of flu strains and provide long-term immunity so people do not have to receive a shot every year. Messenger RNA, or mRNA, is the technology behind Moderna ’s and Pfizer ’s widely used Covid vaccines. NIH played a crucial role in developing the mRNA platform used by Moderna. “A universal flu vaccine could serve as an important line of defense against the spread of a future flu pandemic,” Dr. Hugh Auchincloss, acting director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a statement Monday. The universal flu vaccine trial will enroll up to 50 healthy people ages 18 through 49 to test whether the experimental shot is safe and produces ...
Experts have called for further scrutiny of a new Pfizer vaccine given during pregnancy to prevent respiratory infection in infants, after trials of a similar GSK vaccine were stopped after a rise in preterm birth and infant deaths. Pfizer says its vaccine is safe and effective, but experts contacted as part of an investigation published by The BMJ today, say Pfizer’s trial data should be reviewed in light of the signal for preterm births seen in GSK’s trial. Pfizer’s maternal RSV vaccine aims to protect infants from severe illness caused by the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). RSV is very common but can be fatal, especially in young children. In 2019, an estimated 3.6% of all deaths worldwide in children aged 1–6 months were due to RSV, with 97% of these deaths occurring in low and middle income countries. The vaccine has not yet been approved for use, but a decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is ...
GSK’s respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine has been approved in the US for the prevention of RSV-caused lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) in adults aged 60 years and older. The US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision makes Arexvy the first RSV vaccine for older adults to be approved anywhere in the world. RSV is a common contagious virus characterised by several mild, cold-like symptoms. Although most people can recover within a week or two, older adults are at a high risk for severe disease. This is partly due to age-related decline in immunity. RSV can also exacerbate other conditions, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and chronic heart failure. Overall, RSV infections in older adults account for over 170,000 hospitalisations and approximately 14,000 deaths each year in the US. The company’s application was supported by positive results from its phase 3 AReSVi-006 trial, in which the vaccine showed ...
A recent study published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) evaluated adverse events following the Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Bavarian Nordic (MVA-BN) vaccination for mpox. Background Australia adopted a dose-sparing approach due to the shortage of MVA-BN vaccines in the recent mpox outbreak. Accordingly, a 0.1 ml intradermal dose was recommended for pre-exposure prophylaxis and a 0.5 ml subcutaneous dose for post-exposure prophylaxis in a two-dose regimen four weeks apart. The study and findings In the present study, researchers assessed adverse events following MVA-BN vaccination using data from AusVaxSafety, Australia’s vaccine safety surveillance system. Individuals vaccinated with MVA-BN from August 2022 to March 2023 at AusVaxSafety surveillance sites were asked to participate, which covered three-fourths of mpox vaccination sites. Participants received a survey link seven days after vaccination to complete a questionnaire on adverse events. Responses were considered for analysis if completed within seven days. Demographic details and vaccination ...
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