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* Pharma groups have been working on upgraded Omicron
vaccines
* BioNTech CEO has questioned merit of multipurpose shot
(Adds background, BioNTech remarks)
By Ludwig Burger and Pushkala Aripaka
Jan 18 (Reuters) - The European Union drugs regulator said
pharmaceuticals companies should work on more than one upgraded
COVID-19 shot, not only tailored to the fast-emerging Omicron
variant but also versions that address a combination of
variants.
"What we are hearing from other regulatory agencies also is
that it is important not to exclude any options," the European
Medicines Agency's head of vaccines strategy, Marco Cavaleri,
told a media briefing on Tuesday.
Vaccine makers working on a redesign of their established
shots to address Omicron, which is crowding out the Delta
variant in many regions of the world, include BioNTech-Pfizer
, Moderna and the alliance between
AstraZeneca and Oxford University.
BioNTech Chief Executive Ugur Sahin last week questioned the
need to develop products tailored to more than just Omicron
because immunity against Omicron has been shown to be likely to
confer protection against preceding virus variants.
"Omicron infection and an Omicron vaccine will most likely,
with a high probability, also boost immune responses against all
existing variants," Sahin had said in an analyst call as part of
J.P.Morgan's virtual healthcare conference.
"What is the value if we now combine a potential Omicron
vaccine with another variant as the Omicron vaccine alone would
most likely do the job?" he added.
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger and Pushkala Aripaka
Editing by Catherine Evans and David Goodman)
