(Bloomberg) -- GSK Plc’s experimental mRNA flu vaccine showed a positive immune response against two key types of flu viruses in a mid-stage trial, keeping the drugmaker in the race to bring the technology to seasonal influenza shots.
The vaccine shot being tested in older and younger people improved immune responses against both influenza A and B strains, the company said in a statement Thursday.
They were “really good results,” said Chief Commercial Officer Luke Miels in an interview. GSK had been developing mRNA flu and Covid-19 shots with its partner CureVac, but earlier this year announced it had gained full control of those assets.
GSK also sees potential for a combined shot. “We’re confident we have the capacity with this platform based on the efficacy and the side-effect profile, to ultimately develop a flu-Covid combination vaccine,” said Miels.
Shares of GSK rose as much as 0.8% in early London trading, bringing the gain this year to about 15%.
Vaccine developers including Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc. are betting on an mRNA flu vaccine as a way to speed up the yearly development process that’s needed to adapt these vaccines to the circulating flu strain.
“We saw this with Covid, the huge advantage of mRNA as a platform is it’s very flexible,” said Miels.
That enables vaccine developers to significantly compress the timeframe from when they select a flu strain to when they ship their product. It also means that for the Northern Hemisphere, they have a longer period of time to see the strains develop in the Southern Hemisphere, he said.
Miels said Moderna will likely be first to market in the mRNA flu vaccine race, but that the British drugmaker might be able to beat Pfizer in getting its shot approved. If the late-stage trial goes to plan, GSK hopes to file for approval for its shot in 2026, eyeing a rollout in 2027.
“Reliability of supply is incredibly important and we have an excellent track record there as a company,” said Miels, pointing to other vaccines that GSK already manufactures.
While the durability of mRNA shots has been called into question, this isn’t a problem for seasonal flu shots that need to be changed every year.
(Updates with shares in fifth paragraph)
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