Moderna’s experimental monkeypox vaccine may offer more effective protection than currently available vaccines, according to new research. Moderna’s injection, mRNA-1769, limited the symptoms and duration of monkeypox in primates better than the currently used modified Ankara (MVA) vaccine, according to a study published in the journal Cell.
In a study led by researchers from Moderna and the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, macaques were vaccinated with the mRNA vaccine, the MVA vaccine, or left unvaccinated, and then exposed to a deadly strain of monkeypox. According to the results, the animals inoculated with the mRNA vaccine lost less weight, had fewer lesions and had a shorter duration of illness.
With the mRNA vaccine, we are able to select the parts of the virus that can produce the most effective and efficient immune response
– stated Galit Alter, virologist and immunologist at Moderna, lead author of the study.
The spread of monkeypox is a worldwide concern, particularly because of the new, rapidly spreading clade 1b strain. Currently, Bavarian Nordic’s MVA vaccine, Jynneos, is approved for the prevention of monkeypox and was used in the United States during the 2022 outbreak.
Moderna is currently conducting an early-stage clinical trial of the mRNA-1769 vaccine in the UK, which is expected to be completed next year.
The cover image is an illustration. Cover image source: Getty Images
Source: www.portfolio.hu
