The two laboratories have already developed one of the best-selling Covid vaccines in the world.
A combination vaccine from mRNA technology “could simplify vaccination practices against these two respiratory pathogens, potentially leading to better vaccination coverage for both diseases,” said Annaliesa Anderson, chief scientific officer at Pfizer, in a statement. communicated.
Pfizer and BioNTech join other laboratories which are also trying to develop a combined vaccine: the American Moderna has started phase 1 of a vaccine against influenza and Covid, he confirmed on Thursday on the sidelines of the announcement of its quarterly results.
In mid-October, the American biotechnology laboratory Novavax announced the "positive results of the phase 1 and 2 clinical trial" of a candidate vaccine of this type.
By 2020, BioNTech and Pfizer had been able to quickly and successfully create the world's first approved Covid-19 vaccine, which generated billions of dollars in revenue for both companies.
The company from Mainz (West Germany) will be in charge of testing the safety, the immune response and the optimal dose level of a combined candidate vaccine, by recruiting 180 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 64 in the United States. United, according to a press release.
The follow-up period for each participant will be six months.
Messenger RNA is used to command human cells to manufacture proteins present in the virus in order to accustom the immune system to recognize and neutralize it.
The testing phase will serve to uncover "the potential of mRNA vaccines targeting more than one pathogen," Ugur Sahin, CEO and co-founder of BioNTech, said in the statement.
© 2022 AFP