Moderna has requested regulatory clearance of its reformulated COVID-19 vaccine, which the company is prepared to start delivering next month with FDA’s authorization. The updated product is configured to fight the strain of coronavirus that emerged in 2019 as well as the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants now in heavy circulation. Based on favorable results from previous evaluation of a version that targeted the original strain plus Omicron BA.1, Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel says the new bivalent vaccine “may offer higher, broader, and more durable protection against COVID-19 compared to the currently authorized booster.” A clinical trial is underway to assess the updated booster. Manufacturing team Pfizer-BioNTech, meanwhile, is preparing to launch a study this month of its own updated booster, which also has an application before FDA. (Read More) – May Require Paid Subscription