Biontech and Pfizer begin clinical trial of omicron vaccine. They intend to apply for approval as early as March.
Mainz – Biontech and Pfizer are currently working on the development of a corona vaccine* specially tailored to the Omicron variant*. The researchers are now starting their first clinical study on the new vaccine. The two companies announced on Tuesday (January 25, 2022) that the effectiveness, safety and tolerability of the vaccine candidate will be tested therein.
The study on the new Omikron vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer* will include up to 1,420 test persons between the ages of 18 and 55, who will be divided into three groups. The first group consists of 600 participants who have already been vaccinated twice with the previous vaccine between 90 and 180 days before the start of the study and are now to receive one or two doses of the Omikron vaccine.
Corona vaccination: Biontech/Pfizer test vaccine against omicron – study with 1420 test persons
The second, similarly sized group consists of boosted people who receive an additional dose of the conventional vaccine or a dose of the new Omicron vaccine. 200 people who have not previously been vaccinated or infected with the coronavirus form the third group, which will receive three doses of the new Omikron vaccine.
“The study is part of our scientific approach to develop a variant-based vaccine that offers similar protection against omicron as we have observed with previous variants, but at the same time lasts longer,” said Biontech CEO Uğur Şahin.
Biontech/Pfizer’s Omicron Vaccine: “Need to Prepare for Fading Protection”
The booster vaccination does protect against a serious illness caused by the omicron variant*, explained the head of vaccine research at Pfizer, Kathrin Jansen. Still, we see the need to “prepare for declining protection or the emergence of a new variant,” she explained.
The Mainz-based pharmaceutical company Biontech and its US partner Pfizer announced about two weeks ago that they had already started production of a corona vaccine adapted to the omicron variant for later commercial use. Biontech said the two companies would be ready to supply the market by March, once official approvals have been received.
Omicron vaccine: Biontech/Pfizer want to apply for approval in March
The companies could apply for approval of the new Omicron vaccine as early as March, said Pfizer boss Albert Bourla. The pharmaceutical company from the USA * also expressed the expectation that it would have pre-produced around 50 million to 100 million doses of the new vaccine by the end of March or early April.
For 2022, Biontech and Pfizer are assuming a production capacity of up to four billion doses of the corona vaccine worldwide. The expected amount will not change if the vaccine is adjusted, the companies said on Tuesday (01/25/2022).
The EU countries have ordered around 180 million vaccine doses from the manufacturers. (ms with dpa/AFP) *fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
Headline list image: © Lars Hagberg / dpa
