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(Sharecast News) - Drugmaker GSK said on Tuesday that it will move its mRNA seasonal flu vaccine candidate into Phase III after reporting positive Phase II results at the OPTIONS XIII influenza conference.
GSK said the candidate generated higher immune responses across all tested strains than both standarddose and highdose inactivated flu vaccines in younger and older adults, and was generally well tolerated.
The Phase III study, due to begin in September, will be the first latestage trial of an mRNA flu vaccine designed to target both haemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) - the two key surface antigens that help the virus bind and spread.
Licensed flu vaccines primarily target HA, but GSK said growing evidence suggests adding NA could improve protection, reduce illness severity and help curb transmission.
Sanjay Gurunathan, GSK's head of vaccines and infectious diseases R&D, said: "These promising data support the potential to better protect people from flu with a vaccine designed to target both HA and NA. With one billion flu cases worldwide each year and up to 650,000 deaths there is a need for next generation vaccine approaches. This result is a significant advance in our cutting-edge mRNA programme, and we look forward to starting phase III imminently."
As of 1100 BST, GSK shares were down 0.27% at 1,848.50p.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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