BioNTech to expand trial programme for more anti-Omicron vaccine options

[FRANKFURT] BioNTech has expanded an ongoing clinical trial programme to develop new vaccines and patterns of administration for better protection against the dominant Omicron coronavirus variant.

The enlargement of its trial programme with partner Pfizer, initially unveiled in January, comes as global Covid-19 cases are on the rise and protection against infection from its established Comirnaty vaccine has waned, though protection against severe cases of the disease remains.

BioNtech boosted the number of participants in the trial - in which participants' blood will be monitored for immune responses - to 2,150 from the 1,420 announced in January.

Data is expected in April, the company said in a statement on Wednesday (Mar 30).

"Our goal is to understand the protection these vaccines provide against Omicron, as well as the cross-protection they provide against previous variants of concern," it said.

"Currently, there is no regulatory consensus on the need for Omicron-based vaccines," BionNtech added.

The study was expanded to add several groups, including volunteers getting a sequence of an Omicron-based vaccine plus the established shot targeting the original Wuhan virus.

The company also said it added a subgroup getting a new vaccine targeting these 2 variants in one shot, a feature known as bivalent.

The European Medicines Agency had urged pharmaceuticals companies to explore not only shots tailored to the Omicron variant but also bivalent candidates.

Thanks to 10.3 billion euros (S$15.5 billion) in net income in 2021, the German biotech firm plans to spend between 1.4 billion and 1.5 billion euros on research and development this year.

It also plans to buy back up to US$1.5 billion worth of shares over 2 years and pay a special dividend of 486 million euro in total, or 2 euros per share.

It reiterated its 2022 vaccine revenue guidance of between 13 billion and 17 billion euros. REUTERS