The Moderna vaccine can be hosted in existing distribution networks: Official (Representative)
One of the biggest challenges in delivering a promising coronavirus vaccine based on unprecedented technology to millions of people around the world has just gotten easier.
When Pfizer Inc. announced effective preliminary results for its vaccine candidate last week, the downside was that it had to be stored at ultra-cold temperatures, which posed significant logistical challenges. But Moderna Inc. surpassed its rival on Monday by offering a vaccine based on the same technology that appears to be just as effective, but can also be stored at regular refrigerated temperatures for a month.
The difference is significant. Providing regular vaccines to people in the most remote areas from India to Africa is difficult enough just for supply and transportation issues. The temperature factor introduces a more formidable obstacle, forcing countries to build storage and transport networks capable of maintaining temperatures much colder than those required for frozen meat. The massive investments and coordination required have increased the likelihood that only rich countries will be guaranteed access.
“The Moderna vaccine is a much more viable option for low- and middle-income countries than the Pfizer vaccine,” said Rachel Silverman, Washington-based policy researcher at the Center for Global Development. “Cold storage needs are less extreme.”
Not only can Moderna’s vaccine remain stable in the refrigerator for 30 days, it can also be stored in regular freezers for long-term use. Pfizer’s vaccine should be stored at minus 70 degrees and can only be refrigerated for up to five days – at least until its researchers are able to match Moderna’s breakthrough.
“The Moderna vaccine can be accommodated in existing vaccine distribution networks,” said Ayfer Ali, assistant professor and drug research specialist at Warwick Business School in the UK. “Even in remote and underdeveloped areas, refrigerators are available or can be provided at low cost. “
Although Moderna has only made deals with a handful of developed countries for its vaccine, it has received funding from the nonprofit Coalition for Outbreak Preparedness Innovations and may therefore be required to facilitate the ‘access in low- and middle-income countries, said Silverman.
The vaccine from the Boston-based biotechnology company uses the same new and experimental messenger RNA mechanism as that from Pfizer. The emergence of two promising candidates is helping to alleviate fears that a single vaccine will not be enough to meet global demand.
“We will need to use all the capacity we have and all the effective vaccines as soon as they come online,” Ali said.
Pfizer could also make its vaccine more viable by reformulating it – possibly in a freeze-dried form – to avoid the refrigeration problem, said Gillies O’Bryan-Tear, chair of policy and communications at the UK School of Pharmaceutical Medicine. United.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Covid-19 vaccines are in the works, and it’s possible that another more profitable candidate will emerge that uses proven technology and is easier to manufacture and ship, experts have said.
“I think it will become clear in the next few months there are other vaccines in development that are in phase III,” said Saad Omer, director of the Yale Institute for Global Health. “There will be decisions on wait costs versus action. Some might decide to wait based on broader specs and the need for an ultra cold chain, I think that will be a big calculation. . “
Other vaccine options may be essential, as few existing drug manufacturers have production facilities for messenger RNA technology.
Adar Poonawalla, President and CEO of Serum Institute of India Ltd. – the world‘s largest vaccine producer by volume – said it did not intend to “meddle with messenger RNA candidates” for at least 2.5 years during a new installation of the company is the building is completed.
“This kind of innovation is great for the long haul,” Poonawalla said in an interview. But the question remains how many of them will be “usable” in a practical sense, he said.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
