Australia Orders COVID-19 Variant Booster Vaccines

Cambridge-based Moderna, Inc. announced today a new supply agreement with the government of Australia for 25 million COVID-19 vaccine doses.

This new order includes 10 million doses of Moderna’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine against the ancestral strain (mRNA-1273) delivered in 2021 and 15 million doses of Moderna’s updated variant booster vaccine candidate (mRNA-1273.351) to be delivered in 2022.

Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, stated in a press release, “As we seek to protect people around the world with our COVID-19 vaccine and potentially our variant booster candidates, we look forward to continuing discussions with Australia about establishing potential local manufacturing opportunities.”

Initial data from Moderna’s Phase 2 study in the U.S. showed that a single 50 µg dose of mRNA-1273 or mRNA-1273.351 given as a booster to previously vaccinated individuals increased neutralizing antibody titer responses against SARS-CoV-2 and two variants of concern, B.1.351 (first identified in South Africa) and P.1 (first identified in Brazil).

A booster dose of mRNA-1273.351, the Company’s strain-matched booster, achieved higher neutralizing antibody titers against the B.1.351 Variant of Concern than a booster dose of mRNA-1273.

Safety and tolerability profiles following third dose booster injections of 50 µg of mRNA-1273 or mRNA-1273.351 were generally comparable to those observed after the second dose of mRNA-1273 previously reported Phase 2 and Phase 3 studies.

The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine has been Authorized but not Approved by the U.S. FDA.

Massachusetts-based Moderna’s mRNA platform builds on continuous advances in basic and applied mRNA science, delivery technology, and manufacturing. It has allowed the development of therapeutics and vaccines for infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and auto-immune diseases. Today, 24 development programs are underway across these therapeutic areas, with 14 programs have entered the clinic.