Moderna invests in development of mRNA vax

The company also possesses various unique mRNA vaccine candidates in Phase II development.

These include candidates for Zika virus, Mpox, and herpes, as well as the bacterial infection Lyme disease, with Moderna being the only company in the late-stage pipeline that is targeting mRNA vaccines against bacterial pathogens

New Delhi: While several pharmaceutical companies have mRNA vaccines in late-stage development for other infectious diseases, Moderna is dominating in terms of research and development (R&D) investment in mRNA vaccines, according to a report on Tuesday.

The global messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine market currently consists entirely of vaccines for Covid-19.

The rapid sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 viral genome and the subsequent development of mRNA vaccines in response to the pandemic led to the authorisation of the first of these vaccines in December 2020.

The report by GlobalData, a data and analytics company, reveals that several late-stage pipeline products are in development for various infectious diseases, such as influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and cytomegalovirus, as well as for Covid.

"Most of the current late-stage Covid-19 pipeline is focused on developing boosters against emerging Covid-19 variants in the global context," said Barbora Salcman, Infectious Disease Analyst at GlobalData, in a statement.

"However, in the upcoming years, approval of mRNA vaccines is expected for other infectious diseases, especially influenza, where there are currently 11 different pipeline products in Phase II or III clinical trials," Salcman added.