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Messenger RNA (mRNA) is a new class of drugs that involves injecting mRNA encoding specific proteins into a patient and letting the patient’s cells make the protein. In this video from Motley Fool Live Recorded Nov. 23, Corinne Cardina, Office Manager for Health and Cannabis, and Brian Orelli, Fool.com contributor, discuss how technology can be used to create vaccines and the differences between vaccine candidates that are reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration.
Corinne Cardina: Let’s go back a bit and take a look at the data we’ve gotten over the past few weeks Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and Modern (NASDAQ: ARNM). These two companies shared very impressive efficacy data from their Phase 3 trials on their respective candidates, Pfizer with its German partner, BioNTech (NASDAQ: BNTX). They actually submitted an emergency use authorization to the FDA. They have this app, and I don’t think Moderna will be too far behind. Brian, can you remind us a little bit about how the mRNA approach works and why it will be so exciting if an mRNA vaccine comes onto the market?
Brian Orelli: Yeah, it’s a new class of vaccines. No other vaccine has ever used this technology, but it was in development. The technology was in development before the start of the coronavirus pandemic. If you remember your high school biology, I guess you just start with DNA – DNA makes mRNA, then mRNA makes the actual protein, so instead of knowing where AstraZeneca and Johnson & johnson put DNA, and then I skip that step when I was explaining it, but it produces mRNA, then mRNA produces protein. Instead of starting with DNA, they start with mRNA. They put the mRNA into the cells, and then it works the same as other vaccines.
Cardina: Awesome. Are there any differences between the Pfizer trial and the Moderna trial that investors should consider?
Orelli: Yes, so the Pfizer trial looked, the reading was a week after the second dose. So when you start measuring COVID-19 cases, they started counting. So if you received COVID-19 between your first dose and your second dose, or even a few days after your second dose, they did not count any, whether you were in the vaccine group or in the placebo group, then Moderna used two weeks later. So in theory, Pfizer can say it protects people a week earlier than Moderna. We’re not sure if that’s the case, as Moderna simply didn’t count any of those cases. But that’s the difference. Then in terms of diversity for the two different clinical trials, they were pretty much the same. Pfizer had 42% diversity, but some of that came from outside the United States. So if you just look at the United States, it was 30%, Moderna was 37%, and they were all in the United States. In terms of age, the data I found is a bit more difficult to compare because it does not completely break down age groups. So Pfizer had 45% of the US, participants were between 56 and 85, and then Moderna had 23% of patients over 65. at 56 and Moderna starts at 65.
Cardina: Awesome. So let’s talk a bit about what we know and what we don’t know about the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine candidates. Both therefore require two injections. Moderna is two injections four weeks apart, Pfizer is two injections 21 days apart. Moderna’s, their provisional data showed an efficiency of 94%. Pfizer said theirs was 95% effective in preventing COVID-19 and that there were some differences in how these doses of vaccine should be stored. So Pfizer needs cooler and cooler refrigeration, so there is a little distribution challenge. They announced a pilot delivery program to Rhode Island, Texas, New Mexico, and Tennessee, to try and resolve some of these distribution issues. I know the CEO said, “I don’t think it’s going to be as bad as people think; we will find out. Do you have any thoughts on the cold chain and refrigeration needs of the Pfizer dose?
Brian Orelli: Yeah, I mean, I think it’s definitely going to be a challenge, but I think it’s going to be doable. I think the biggest problem is long distance transport; it can be a problem because we don’t have that many trucks, and I know there aren’t any ships that can move things in that cold temperature. Then in terms of storage, we don’t have as many freezers at that temperature, and they sure will, so it’s more likely that it’s a large retailer where it’s going to be an area that everyone will have. come to, against everyone goes to different pharmacies. So if the Moderna can be stored at a frozen temperature, which is just an average daily freezer, so that it can be distributed individually to doctors’ offices and pharmacies, where I think Pfizer will most likely be, any the world will come to a central place and they will do it there.
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