Last month, Moderna posted “robust” phase 1 results for its COVID-19 vaccine in adults up to age 55. Now, it’s following up with data from a small group of older adults—and they look promising.
The phase 1 study, being run by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is testing three dose levels of the vaccine, mRNA-1273, given in two injections a month apart in 120 adults. As seen in 45 younger adults, the middle dose of the vaccine triggered the production of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in 10 patients aged 56 to 70 and 10 patients over 71. Moderna presented the data on Wednesday at a meeting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
The investigators found that the older adults’ antibody levels were two to three times higher than those measured in 38 patients who had recovered from COVID-19. Compare that to the results from younger adults—one test found that the middle dose, 100 micrograms, triggered antibody levels that were four times higher than those seen in recovered patients, while a different test found those patients had twice the antibody level of the recovered patients. Whichever way you slice it, it’s good news, wrote Jefferies analyst Michael Yee in an investor note at the time.
Pfizer says COVID-19 Vaccine Trial More than 50 Percent Enrolled
Enrollment in the 30,000-volunteer U.S. trial testing a COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech is more than 50 percent complete, Dr. Nicholas Kitchin, a top Pfizer vaccine research and development scientist, said at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting on Wednesday.Last week, the company said it had enrolled more than 11,000 volunteers in the trial.