[ad_1]
However, the situation in the media market is constantly changing: if you want to support quality business journalism and want to be part of the Portfolio community, subscribe to Portfolio Signature articles. Know more
Coronavirus messenger RNA (mRNA) -based vaccines, such as those developed by Moderna, BioNTech, or Pfizer, to name just a few of the most successful developments to date, require significant cooling. This can also make vaccine storage and distribution difficult, Marketwatch reports.
Executives at Moderna and Pfizer held separate discussions with the U.S. Office of Epidemiology (CDC) this week, including the fact that the storage temperature for the Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate vaccine was -4 Fahrenheit ( -20 degrees Celsius). The BioNTech and Pfizer joint development and the BN1162b2 and BNT162b2 vaccines should be stored at -94 Fahrenheit (-70 degrees Celsius).
Because of this, traditional storage solutions will be very cumbersome in pharmacy conditions, says Marketwatch, an analyst at SVB Leerink. On the contrary, only specialized hospitals and laboratories will be able to provide adequate storage conditions, so vaccination days can be organized at these sites. But in this way they could only cover a small part of the population in a short time.
The epidemiology office said they were aware of this problem. The head of the department’s viral diseases department said that the need to store these vaccines actually makes it very difficult for public hospitals and pharmacies to store and handle them. He added that the vaccine must be housed in central institutions with adequate equipment and high permeability.
So far, encouraging results have been obtained from Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech’s messenger RNA vaccine, and are considered among the most promising developments. But according to the analyst, since the storage conditions for other types of vaccines are less strict, it is conceivable that they are at a competitive disadvantage.
Moderna’s share price actually soared this year in response to news about vaccine development, with the paper surging 244 percent. BioNTech also showed a significant increase of almost 92 percent, but Pfizer fell slightly, at 3 percent.
Cover image: Getty Images
[ad_2]
