Moderna To Develop Vaccines For World's 15 Most Dangerous Pathogens

(RTTNews) - Moderna Inc. (MRNA) on Monday revealed its plans to develop and start testing vaccines against 15 of the world's most dangerous pathogens by the year 2025. The company also said that it would once and for all wave its COVID-19 vaccine patents for vaccines meant for few low- and middle-income countries.

The company is working with different partners to develop vaccines against 15 pathogens, which include Chikungunya, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Dengue, Ebola, Malaria, Marburg, Lassa fever, MERS and COVID-19.

The US-based vaccine maker said that messenger RNA or mRNA technology will be made available to vaccine researchers for emerging and neglected diseases through a program called mRNA Access.

Moderna unveiled its latest plans ahead of the Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit sponsored by the UK government and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations or CEPI.

The above-mentioned collaborations include a Nipah virus vaccine with the U.S. National Institutes of Health and an HIV vaccine with the Gates Foundation and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Moderna President Stephen Hoge said in an interview.

He added that the company would either look for new partners or develop the vaccines on their own.

Moderna Chief Executive Stephane Bancel told a virtual press briefing on Monday that the 15 viruses are highly dangerous. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed six million people worldwide and made millions more fall sick, is a sign that things need to change, he added.

Going further, the company said that it would make permanent for 92 low-and middle-income countries, which qualify for assistance under the COVAX Advance Market Commitment or AMC, led by the GAVI vaccine alliance.

As part of its pandemic plans for the future, the vaccine-maker will open access to academic research labs to test their own theories for vaccines to address emerging and neglected diseases. The company said that some of these may later lead to partnerships to cure the 15 pathogens.

In the beginning, the program will begin with a few academic labs, but is expected to grow rapidly.