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Summary
- On 17 December, a panel of independent US experts recommended the emergency approval for Moderna’s mRNA-based vaccine.
- Last week, the same panel had backed the Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE vaccine.
- The Moderna vaccine has efficiency and logistical advantage over the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
It is a big victory for Moderna. A panel of independent experts in the US has recommended the emergency use of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine. This is a huge step, and it will emerge as a big advantage for the US as Moderna’s vaccine candidate has a significant logistical advantage over the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine candidate and is more likely to have a wider market acceptance. The US FDA is expected to give the go-ahead by Thursday or Friday.
Last week, the same panel had backed the Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE vaccine for emergency approval.
Outside the US, Moderna has already agreed to supply its vaccine shots to Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, and the European Union.
Also Read: Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine ensures ‘overwhelmingly high efficacy’: US FDA
Advantage Moderna
Moderna’s vaccine candidate has a number of advantages over Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine. Both the vaccines are based on mRNA receptor technology. Moderna’s vaccine has shown a 95 per cent efficacy against the coronavirus compared to 90 per cent efficacy shown by Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in their respective clinical trials.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine shot requires minus 75-degree Celsius temperature for storage and transport, while the Moderna vaccine requires minus 20 Celsius. This is a major advantage as many countries won’t be able to provide adequate logistics to store the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
The vaccine war
Both of the British Vaccine candidates from AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline are behind their US rivals in terms of technology, efficacy and development. Both have stated that their vaccine candidates will roll out in the first half of 2021. This would mean that the market will be dominated by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech for at least six months.
Share price performance of AstraZeneca plc (LON: AZN)
(Source- EODHD/Others, Thomson Reuters)
The shares of AstraZeneca plc (LON:AZN) have been trading at GBX 7,579.00 per share at 10.07 AM GMT+1 on 18 December 2020.
Share price performance of GlaxoSmithKline plc (LON: GSK)
(Source- EODHD/Others, Thomson Reuters)
The shares of GlaxoSmithKline plc (LON:GSK)) have been trading at GBX 1375.88 per share 10.23 AM GMT+1 on 18 December 2020.
