Moderna Inc said it is developing a single vaccine that combines a booster dose against COVID-19 with its experimental flu shot.
The company hopes to eventually add vaccines it is working on for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and other respiratory diseases as an annual shot.
"We believe this is a very large opportunity that is ahead of us, if we could bring to market a high efficacy pan-respiratory annual booster," Moderna Chief Executive Officer Stéphane Bancel said during a presentation to update investors on its drugs in development.
"We believe Moderna could be first to market in this important new opportunity," he said.
The company is conducting clinical trials for an RSV vaccine in older adults, Reuters reported.
Moderna and Pfizer Inc and German vaccine partner BioNTech SE are already expected to reap billions of dollars from COVID-19 booster shots, analysts and healthcare investors said. Adding influenza and other diseases could further boost those profits.
The drugmaker already had several influenza vaccine candidates in development. The new vaccine combines the experimental flu shot that is furthest along with its COVID-19 vaccine.
