Monkeypox doesn’t carry the same urgency for Moderna as COVID, says CEO Stéphane Bancel as per Yahoo Finance.
- Moderna putting a higher focus on COVID-19 over Monkeypox.
- The company considers right now a Premature Call of Monkeypox.
COVID-19 Urgency
Though the company is working on a vaccine for the disease, it remains focused on the novel coronavirus. “We don’t have the urgency we had when COVID happened, because as you know, there is already a vaccine on the market,” Bancel said. Monkeypox has been endemic in Africa for five years, and already has a viable vaccine and treatment on the market. Denmark-based Bavarian Nordic, the maker of JYNNEOS, is currently the only player on the market. Despite all of this it is struggling to meet the market demand. “This is not an airborne virus. I’m not aware of any scientists that believe it can get to a pandemic like COVID,” Bancel said.
Premature Call of Monkeypox
On an earnings call Wednesday, the company noted that the monkeypox vaccine is still a pre-clinical pursuit as it weighs how mRNA can play a role immediately as well as in the long term. Discussions with the FDA are ongoing, and until there is a clear pathway to an approved product, and an identified need and demand for it. The company considers the need for the current focus on monkeypox a premature need as of now. The company says it is fully prepared for the same whenever needed.
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Source: Yahoo Finance
