Pfizer-BioNTech alliance will test a combined vaccine against COVID-19 and influenza

US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech announced on Thursday the launch of the first phase trial of a messenger RNA (mRNA)-based vaccine combining protection against influenza and COVID-19.

Both laboratories have already developed one of the best-selling covid vaccines in the world.

A combined vaccine based on mRNA technology “could simplify vaccination practices against these two respiratory pathogens, potentially leading to better coverage for the two diseases,” Annaliesa Anderson, chief scientific officer at Pfizer, said in a statement.

Pfizer and BioNTech they join other laboratories that are also trying to develop a combined vaccine.

Moderna started phase 1 of a vaccine against influenza and covid, the US laboratory confirmed on Thursday on the sidelines of the announcement of its quarterly results.

In mid-October, the American biotech laboratory Novavax announced the “positive results of phase 1 and 2 clinical trial” of such a vaccine.

In 2020, BioNTech and Pfizer they were able to quickly and successfully create the world’s first approved covid-19 vaccine, generating billions of euros of revenue for both companies.

The firm from Mainz (West Germany) will be in charge of testing the safety, immune response and optimal dose level of a combined candidate vaccine, recruiting 180 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 64 in the United States, according to a statement.

The follow-up period for each participant will be six months.

The RNA messenger allows human cells to manufacture proteins present in the virus to habituate the immune system to recognize and neutralize it.

The test phase will be used to detect “the potential of mRNA vaccines targeting more than one pathogen”, detailed Ugur Sahin, president and co-founder of BioNTechin the statement.