What the next few years hold for Covid vaccine makers

Plus: How the CDC can clear up its messaging

This week marks the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, which brings together hundreds of healthcare companies every year to update investors, analysts and others on the accomplishments and future plans.. Here’s a few highlights from some of the major Covid vaccine players at the conference on Monday, and we’ll bring you more in this newsletter as the week goes on.

Moderna: CEO Stephane Bancel highlighted the growth of his company’s vaccine business, which shipped 807 million doses in 2021 and took in over $17 billion in revenue. The company’s next big thing is its work on a vaccine that can tackle multiple respiratory viruses at once. It’s currently doing clinical trials for a Covid/flu combination and plans to expand that over the next few years to include RSV and even a common cold. “We think this is in reach,” Bancel said.

Pfizer: CEO Albert Bourla said that “We have a virus that’s a lot harder to deal with than we previously thought,” a reference to the high number of mutated variants that have been seen over the course of the pandemic. To that end, he said, the company is working on an update to its vaccine to deal with omicron and other variants. The data for that will be available in March and Bourla said Pfizer is already switching up manufacturing lines for the updated vaccine. Additionally, Pfizer is preparing to manufacture 120 million doses of its Covid antiviral treatment, partially at-risk because it anticipates high levels of orders for the treatment because it can be stockpiled. The company also announced today two major deals with Beam Therapeutics and Acuitas Therapeutics to continue innovation with mRNA-based treatments and vaccines.

Novavax: Novavax began shipping its Covid vaccine last quarter and administrations started last month. 10 million doses have been shipped to Indonesia with 40 million more on the way. The company also plans to ship 27 million vaccine doses to the EU this quarter and over 40 million more next quarter. CEO Stanley Erck notes that this may indicate demand to overcome vaccine hesitancy, since Novavax’s Covid vaccine is based on a more mature technology. “People simply want a safe and effective protein-based alternative,” he said. Novavax is also currently in clinical trials for a flu/Covid booster combination shot.  Erck also said that Novavax’s vaccine may be authorized for use in the U.S. in February. 

Do you have comments or questions? Email us at health@forbes.com

More Covid News

Experts are encouraging people to upgrade their masks from cloth to help curb Covid transmission. Here’s our guide to what you need to know about masks. 

The immune response generated by previous exposure to certain common colds could help protect against Covid-19, according to a new peer reviewed study published in Nature Communications, which could pave the way to more long-lasting vaccines. 

Scientists in Cyprus have found 25 cases of a strain of the coronavirus that they say combines elements of the delta and omicron variants, dubbing it “deltacron,” with a high proportion of the variant found in patients hospitalized for Covid-19. 

Incidences of Covid-19 related multisystem inflammatory syndrome are expected to surge among children as the omicron variant pushes case numbers higher. 

The Supreme Court revised the transcript of Friday’s oral arguments on the federal government’s Covid-19 vaccine mandates, after originally erroneously reporting Justice Neil Gorsuch claimed the flu kills “hundreds of thousands” annually.

A new study suggests that peak viral loads in people infected with the omicron Covid variant occur between 3 to 6 days after the onset of symptoms.

Private insurance companies will be required to reimburse customers for up to eight at-home Covid-19 tests per month starting Saturday. 

What Else We Are Reading

• A tiny Florida company got more of a scarce Covid therapy than some big hospitals, raising equity questions (Stat)

• FDA loses FOIA suit over Pfizer vaccine documents, must release 55,000 pages per month (Endpoints News)

• Threat of omicron keeps China walled off, as scientists search for more-effective vaccines (Washington Post)