Keeping tabs on Covid-19: Novavax develops combined Covid-flu vaccine and Rigel Pharmaceuticals reduces Covid-19 risks by 50 per cent

Novavax begins trials on combined Covid-19 and flu vaccine with Moderna closely following suit

The advent of Covid-19 coincided with a sharp drop in recorded flu cases, causing uncertainty among vaccine development professionals when predicting new strains and developing appropriate vaccines.

Novavax has taken steps toward developing a flu vaccine while also maintaining a focus on critical Covid-19 vaccinations with a Phase 1/2 clinical trial.

The study evaluated the efficacy of a combination vaccine, applying Novavax’s recombinant protein-based Covid-19 jab and their NanoFlu vaccine candidate with the company’s Matrix-M adjuvant into a single jab. The study intends to also evaluate the effects of the vaccine on a sample of 640 adults, aged 50 to 70, who have previously contracted Covid-19 or have been treated with a Covid-19 vaccine in the past eight months.

Gregory Glenn, President of Research and Development at Novavax, said: "This study is the first of its kind to evaluate the vaccine's potential to induce a robust immune response, augmented by our Matrix-M adjuvant, against two life-threatening diseases simultaneously."

Novavax are not alone in recognizing this opportunity, however, as Moderna announced they will too begin developing a combination vaccine. Moderna has planned to take development goals one step further by adding vaccinations for respiratory diseases into the mix alongside vaccinations for Covid-19 and flu to create a holistic annual booster shot.

"We believe there is a very large opportunity ahead of us, if we could bring to market a high efficacy pan-respiratory annual booster," said Stéphane Bancel, CEO at Moderna.

Rigel Pharmaceticals achieves 50 per cent reduction in Covid-19 adverse effects

A Covid-19 treatment received a huge boon from innovators in the drug development field, as Rigel Pharmaceuticals announced the results of a successful Phase 2 clinical trial. The drug, fostamatinib disodium hexahydrate (dubbed Talivasse), is an oral spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor for the treatment of chronic immune thrombocytopenia in adults who have previously had unsuccessful treatments. The trial aims to test the effects of this drug on Covid-19 patients.

As part of the clinical trial 59 hospitalized Covid-19 patients received oral treatment of fostamatinib twice a day for 14 days, with a follow up period of 60 days. The result saw a 50 per cent reduction in serious adverse events by day 29, with zero deaths in the fostaminitab group compared to three deaths in the placebo group.

“With the need [to combat the Covid-19 pandemic] remaining so great, we are pleased with the growing body of evidence that suggests fostamatinib may provide clinical benefit for those patients hospitalized with Covid-19,” commented Raul Rodriguez, president and CEO of Rigel.

“We expect our larger Phase 3 clinical trial in Covid-19 to complete later this year, which will provide us with further understanding of the safety and efficacy of fostamatinib and its potential as a new therapy for these patients,” Rodriguez added.

Leave a comment below and let us know what your thoughts are on the trajectory of Covid-19 treatment and vaccination.