(Reuters) – Immunity against Moderna Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine should last at least a year, the company said Monday at a JP Morgan Healthcare conference.
The drugmaker said he was confident that the messenger RNA (mRNA) technology he used was very suitable for deploying a vaccine based on the new variant of coronavirus that has emerged in a handful of countries.
The company’s vaccine, mRNA-1273, uses synthetic mRNA to mimic the surface of the coronavirus and teach the immune system to recognize and neutralize it.
Moderna said in December that it would conduct tests to confirm vaccine activity against any strain. (reut.rs/3brXn6w)
The company said Monday it expects to deliver between 600 million doses and 1 billion vaccines by 2021 and expects vaccine-related sales of $ 11.7 billion for the year, according to pre-purchase agreements signed with governments.
“The team feels very comfortable with the track record we have now … that we are on track to deliver at least 600 million doses,” CEO Stéphane Bancel said.
Report by Trisha Roy in Bengaluru; Edited by Shounak Dasgupta