The American biotechnology company Moderna will file "at the beginning of June" an application for marketing authorization in the European Union for its anti-Covid vaccine for 12-17 year olds, said its boss Stéphane Bancel in the Journal du dimanche .
Considering that "by the summer, all adults wishing to be vaccinated will have received a first dose", Stéphane Bancel estimated that "it will then be necessary very quickly to target adolescents from 12 to 17 years old".
Today, only the vaccine from Pfizer / BioNTech is authorized for 16-18 year olds in Europe;
Pfizer has also applied for authorization for 12-16 year olds and has already obtained it in the United States.
"The ideal would be to protect them before the end of August"
“The ideal would be to protect them before the end of August.
If we do not massively vaccinate, the risk of a fourth wave cannot be ruled out, ”explained Stéphane Bancel, who has headed biotech since 2011.
From next week, the vaccine will be used in France outside vaccination centers, by doctors and pharmacists.
A further step towards the accessibility of vaccines and "group immunity", he assured, adding that he communicated regularly with French officials, "in particular President Macron" on the health situation.
Moderna is also currently testing the effectiveness of three different "recalls" (Wuhan strain, South African strain and a mixture of the two) against four variants of the coronavirus, trials for which it expects first results in early June, before d 'further human trials in the summer with the aim of "providing the data to regulatory agencies in August, for approval in September".
His fortune for a foundation
He said Moderna could produce three billion doses per year, which, added to the four billion predicted by Pfizer-BioNTech, would be "enough to vaccinate the entire planet with a first dose."
Regarding his personal fortune, which exploded to more than five billion dollars according to Forbes during the pandemic because of his shares in Moderna, Stéphane Bancel assured the financing of many associations thanks to a foundation created with his wife: "We are determined to give our entire fortune and grow this foundation, called Champions of love ”.
“Our children have been warned: We pay for your studies and then you will manage!
», Quipped Stéphane Bancel.
