Arrival of the highly-mutated Omicron variant is a wake-up call to develop vaccines less susceptible to the rapid changes of the coronavirus, leading virologists and immunologists told Reuters.
Most first-generation COVID-19 vaccines target the spike protein on the outer surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus used to infect human cells. Omicron has prompted alarm among scientists because it has far more mutations than earlier variants, including more than 30 on its spike.
Research to determine the extent to which Omicron evades immunity from existing vaccines or prior infection is underway. New data on the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine show some degree of reduced protection with the two-shot regimen.
Even if current shots remain effective for now, the dramatic evolution of the virus highlights the need for vaccines targeting parts of the virus less prone to mutate.
Covid-19 is ‘not going to go away’
“One thing that is clear from Omicron is that the virus… is not going to go away,” said Dr. Larry Corey, a virologist at Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center who is overseeing U.S. government-backed COVID-19 vaccine trials. “There’s a need for better vaccines.”
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the coronavirus has morphed several times including into the more transmissible, globally dominant Delta variant. Still, COVID-19 vaccines have largely maintained their ability to protect people against severe illness and death.
As rapid response tools, the current COVID-19 vaccines are “outstanding,” said Richard Hatchett, chief executive of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), an international coalition formed to prepare for infectious disease threats that has invested in many COVID-19 vaccines.
1:58 Omicron COVID-19 variant can partially evade protection from Pfizer vaccine, South African study finds
Omicron COVID-19 variant can partially evade protection from Pfizer vaccine, South African study finds
But more work – and money – is needed to manage the long-term risk. In March, CEPI called for $200 million in funding to develop vaccines that offer broad protection against SARS-CoV-2 variants, and other viruses in the same family such as MERS and SARS.
“We need to keep investing as a hedge against a future that we can’t predict,” Hatchett said.
World Health Organization chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said on Friday at the Reuters Next conference that next-generation vaccines are needed.
“We’re working hard to support that research and development,” Swaminathan said.
Most of the leading COVID-19 vaccines exclusively target parts of the spike protein that provoke strong immune responses, representing an early bet aimed at blocking infection.
The most dramatic of these are the messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, which initially had 95% efficacy against symptomatic COVID-19, far exceeding expectations. Their success has added billions in revenue and valuations for developers Pfizer and German partner BioNTech and Moderna.
An exception are COVID-19 vaccines produced in China by Sinovac Biotech and state-owned Sinopharm, which use an inactivated version of the whole SARS-CoV-2 virus, instead of singling out specific genes. Early studies suggested that antibody protection from those vaccines wanes rapidly, and protection may be limited in the elderly.
French biotech Valneva, whose vaccine uses an inactivated version of the whole SARS-CoV-2 virus, in October said its shot outperformed AstraZeneca’s, which targets the spike protein.
More recently, a British study showed Valneva’s was the only shot out of seven that offered no immunity boost when given after two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Valneva’s vaccine is under review with the European Union’s drug regulator.
For the immediate Omicron threat, most companies are working on new versions of their existing vaccines targeting the variant. AstraZeneca said it will soon have initial trial data on a vaccine focused on the Beta variant, which shares similarities with Omicron.
Time for more broadly protective vaccines?
Several research groups and companies have started work on more broadly protective vaccines, such as those that target parts of the virus too essential for its survival to change. Experts caution it will likely take more than a year and generous funding to succeed.
“It’s definitely a worthy effort,” said Dr. Dan Barouch, a Harvard vaccine researcher who helped design Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine. “It is not the answer for Omicron…, but it is potentially the answer for the next variant.”
Moderna is researching how to target parts of the coronavirus less prone to mutate. Such a vaccine would need large-scale clinical trials that take months to complete, company President Stephen Hoge said.
1:55 Early evidence suggests Omicron variant more transmissible than Delta
Early evidence suggests Omicron variant more transmissible than Delta
Moderna is working on an Omicron-specific version of its vaccine and considering one that could address up to four variants.
“Realistically, I don’t think those second-generation vaccine approaches are going to come to fruition in the next six to 12 months,” Hoge said.
CEPI is providing $4.3 million to MigVax Corp, an affiliate of Israel’s Migal Galilee Research Institute, which is developing an oral vaccine, and up to $5 million to the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization. Both are in early development of potentially variant-proof vaccines.
CEPI is also investing up to $26 million to support work on a self-amplifying mRNA vaccine from Gritstone Bio aimed at fighting variants. Gritstone also has backing from the Gates Foundation and the U.S. government, with early-stage trials underway or soon to start.
Said Gritstone CEO Andrew Allen: “It’s just a little naive to think that the vaccines that we made in the first few hot minutes of the pandemic are the best vaccines that we can make.”
— Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago; additional reporting by Michael Erman in New Jersey, Carl O’Donnell in New York, Josephine Mason in London and Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt
CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.
It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.
The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.
The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.
“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”
Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.
BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.
The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.
BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.
It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.
The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”
Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
TORONTO – Cineplex Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year ago as it was hit by a fine for deceptive marketing practices imposed by the Competition Tribunal.
The movie theatre company says it lost $24.7 million or 39 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $29.7 million or 40 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
The results in the most recent quarter included a $39.2-million provision related to the Competition Tribunal decision, which Cineplex is appealing.
The Competition Bureau accused the company of misleading theatregoers by not immediately presenting them with the full price of a movie ticket when they purchased seats online, a view the company has rejected.
Revenue for the quarter totalled $395.6 million, down from $414.5 million in the same quarter last year, while theatre attendance totalled 13.3 million for the quarter compared with nearly 15.7 million a year earlier.
Box office revenue per patron in the quarter climbed to $13.19 compared with $12 in the same quarter last year, while concession revenue per patron amounted to $9.85, up from $8.44 a year ago.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
