The vaccine developer could adapt the corona vaccine to the Omikron variant.
(Photo: dpa)
Frankfurt, Düsseldorf Biontech boss Ugur Sahin assumes the need for a new vaccine in view of the Omikron virus variant. The only question is when this new vaccine will be needed, said Sahin on Friday at the “Reuters Next” conference. The Mainz manufacturer could adapt its vaccine relatively quickly if necessary.
Biontech expects Omikron to develop as a so-called escape variant. That means that it can probably also infect people who have been vaccinated. But he is confident that vaccinated people are adequately protected from serious illness.
On Tuesday, Sahin was even more optimistic: “Our message is: Don’t go crazy, the plan remains the same: Accelerate the administration of the third booster vaccination.” At this point, Stéphane Bancel, head of US competitor Moderna, was already closed came to the conclusion that an adapted vaccine will be necessary due to the spread of the Omikron variant.
Next to Biontech / Pfizer, Moderna is the second major manufacturer of approved mRNA vaccines against the coronavirus. Bancel came to his skeptical assessment after consultations with researchers inside and outside the company: “All the scientists I have spoken to are of the opinion: ‘This doesn’t look good’.”
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Researchers are alarmed by the high number of mutations on the so-called spike protein of the omicron variant. With the help of this protein, the virus can penetrate human cells and multiply there. Existing vaccines address this mechanism.
Numerous mutations in the spike protein
With the currently widespread Delta variant, the protective effect of the vaccines is a little less, but still sufficient. But Omikron is setting new standards for mutations: 32 of the 50 changes recognized so far relate to the spike protein. Such a strong mutation could mean that the body’s immune system no longer recognizes the protein sufficiently. Most experts have so far assumed that such a distinctive variant would only appear in a year or two, said Moderna CEO Bancel.
The mRNA manufacturer fears that vaccines against the omicron variant could be less effective.
At the beginning of the week, Sahin told Reuters that he assumed that the existing Covid-19 vaccine from the company and its US partner Pfizer would also offer significant protection against serious illnesses with the new Omikron variant.
Sahin said on Friday that he expected that unvaccinated people could develop even more severe courses. In addition, the likelihood that annual corona vaccinations would be required is increasing. The virus mutates faster.
Omikron doesn’t come as a surprise to vaccine manufacturers. Biontech has been preparing for the appearance of an Escape variant for a long time. The laboratory is currently testing how well the existing mRNA vaccine works against the mutated variant. Blood serum from vaccinated persons is exposed to the Omikron spike protein. This provides information on whether the antibodies in the blood render the virus protein sufficiently harmless. Results should be available in the coming week.
At the same time, however, Biontech and Moderna are starting to develop a new vaccine that is adapted to Omikron. No time should be lost. The mRNA technology makes it possible to adjust a vaccine relatively quickly to a new virus mutation, since only its blueprint has to be reinstalled.
According to Biontech, it would be possible to adapt the vaccine within six weeks and deliver the first batches within 100 days. Moderna boss Bancel spoke to the “FT” of “months” that this process should take.
More: Biontech children’s vaccine arrives earlier than expected