Moderna plans to develop vaccines against 15 pathogens which can trigger pandemic in future

Moderna is planning to develop vaccines against 15 pathogens which can trigger pandemic in the future. The company is planning to begin testing vaccines for the potential 15 pathogens by 2025 and intends to provide COVID-19 vaccines for certain low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Moderna, through its mRNA Access program, will also offer its messenger RNA (mRNA) technology for research on new vaccines for emerging and neglected diseases.

Having announced its strategy ahead of the Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit, Moderna is also seeking collaborations for development of vaccines against some of the 15 pathogens.

The Summit is sponsored by the UK government and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).

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Development of vaccines for pathogens includes Malaria, Dengue, Ebola, MERS, Marburg, Lassa fever, Chikungunya, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever and COVID-19.

A Nipah virus vaccine with the US National Institutes of Health and an HIV vaccine with the Gates Foundation and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative are also some of the collaborations, Moderna President Stephen Hoge said further adding that the Moderna will either seek out new partners for the others or develop them internally.”

Moderna had also pledged not to enforce its vaccine patents during the emergency phase of the health crisis during the COVID pandemic.This has led to the development of a World Health Organization (WHO) backed vaccine manufacturing plant in Africa as part of a pilot project to equip poor and middle-income countries manufacture COVID-19 vaccines.

To address emerging and neglected diseases as part of its future pandemic plan, Moderna intends to make its technology available to academic research labs to develop vaccines. This may also result in partnerships with Moderna to address the 15 priority pathogens.

Hoge said that this will help scientists who have great ideas to access our standards and technology.

The company plans to start a program with a few academic labs and expects it to expand rapidly for discovery of vaccines using mRNA technology.