Moderna to Give Canada Omicron-Based COVID Vaccine Including 12 Million Doses

Moderna Inc

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) said it would give the Canadian government 12 million doses of its Omicron-containing bivalent vaccine booster as part of an agreement made last year to supply COVID-19 vaccine doses.

It is projected that all of these doses will be administered by the end of 2022. We would like to inform you that the Canadian health authorities have not yet given their blessing to the Omicron-specific bivalent vaccine.

The Canadian government has made good on its plan to buy an additional 4.5 million doses of the bivalent vaccination booster produced by Moderna and including the Omicron antigen. Additionally, 1.5 million medicines slated for delivery in 2022 will be shipped out early by the corporation.

Additionally, the parties have settled on exchanging a request for 6 million doses of Spikevax for a bivalent vaccine booster, including Omicron.

Compared to the industry’s 21.9% decrease this year, Moderna’s stock price is down 43.9%.

To the Canadian government’s delight, Moderna secured a supply contract for its COVID vaccination in 2022 and 2023. Up to 65 million doses will be purchased by the government annually. The Canadian government has the option to prolong the deal through the year 2024 so that they can continue benefiting from it. Canada can buy new vaccine adaptations from Moderna as part of the deal.

The business recently released trial data for their bivalent COVID-19 vaccine booster candidate, mRNA-1273.214, designed to combat the Omicron form.

Clinical Data from Moderna

New clinical data showed that after a month of administration, participants who received a 50 g dose of mRNA-1273.214 (regardless of prior infection or age) generated higher neutralizing antibodies against the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 compared with those who received a booster dose of Spikevax.

Additionally, Moderna has created mRNA-1273.222, a bivalent booster candidate that includes both the company’s first vaccination, Spikevax, and the Omicron BA.4/5 strain mRNA. It is believed that Moderna will shortly submit a EUA application to the FDA.

Indeed, mRNA-1273.222 development began when the FDA suggested vaccination manufacturers create bivalent booster vaccines specific to Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants. After months of negotiations, Moderna said it had signed an advance purchase agreement with the United States government to supply up to 300 million mRNA-1273.222 doses for $1.74 billion.

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