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Moderna vaccine to be trialled by team at St George’s, University of London
Researchers are set to trial one of the world’s first Omicron-specific Covid-19 variant vaccines in the UK, led by a team based at St George’s, University of London.
The vaccine, which was developed by the American pharmaceutical firm Moderna, will be trialled for up to 13 months at 29 research sites across England, Scotland and Wales, with support from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
Around 3,000 volunteers will take part in the trial, with half set to receive a Moderna Omicron variant vaccine. The other half will be vaccinated with the standard Moderna Covid-19 vaccine.
Health secretary Sajid Javid said the UK was a “world leader when it comes to the research and development of vaccines and medicines, bolstered by our renowned life sciences industry”.
“It’s fantastic to see these capabilities being put to good use, with almost 3,000 people expected to take part in this important clinical trial,” he said. “I want this country to be the best place in the world to launch clinical trials.
“I urge anyone eligible to take part in this vital research and play their part in protecting the country for years to come as we learn to live with Covid-19.”
‘Cutting-edge vaccine study’
Andrew Ustianowski, national clinical lead for the UK NIHR Covid vaccine research programme, said the NIHR and research teams across the UK were “eager to begin working with Moderna on this cutting-edge vaccine study”.
“There are currently a number of variant and multivariant targeting vaccines in development—this was always likely to be one of the next steps in Covid-19 vaccine research; however, the emergence of the recent variants has brought forward this process.
“We have seen from the Omicron variant how some existing vaccines may protect less well against new variants, and continued research into which vaccine combinations work best is vital to help us stay protected.”
Participants in the trial will need to have not tested positive for Covid-19 since the start of November 2021, and must have had their last vaccine at least three months before joining the study.
According to Moderna, a third shot of its original Covid-19 vaccine increases neutralising antibodies against the Omicron variant at the lower half-dose used in the UK rollout. However, these levels were found to decline six months after the booster dose was administered.