Filenews 5 May 2021
BioNTech, the German biotechnology company that developed Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine, is preparing a new version of the vaccine that will be kept in a simple refrigerator, an improvement that will significantly help immunize poor countries. At the same time, the two companies are considering a possible modification of the vaccine for the booster doses that may be required in the future.
Speaking at a Financial Times conference, BioNTech chief executive Ugur Sahin said his company is preparing to submit a licensing request for a new version of the Comirnaty vaccine that will be maintained for up to six months at a temperature of 2 to 8 degrees.
Today, the vaccine must be stored at -80 degrees Celsius in order to stay stable for this time, although it can be kept for a few weeks and at higher temperatures.
Both companies have stated that vaccinated individuals are not excluded from needing booster doses about a year later, as immunity is not excluded from declining.
However, monitoring of volunteers participating in the clinical trials shows that the immune response remains at satisfactory levels at least six months after the second dose of the vaccine, raising hopes that the booster dose will not be needed as quickly.
As Clinical Trials Arena reports, BioNTech and Pfizer are considering two possible strategies for booster doses: either re-vaccination with Comirnaty, or administration of a new version of the vaccine specifically designed for the transmissible strain B.1.351 of corona, which was first detected last year in South Africa and has now spread to dozens of countries.
According to the same source, however, experts believe that the best strategy in the long term may be to re-administer the original vaccine.
Source: news.in.gr
