A photo showing the logo of the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche in Basel.
BUCKET RUBBER AFP | Getty Images
Roche is working with Moderna to include a Covid-19 antibody test in the mRNA specialist’s ongoing vaccination trials, the Swiss pharmaceutical company said Wednesday, potentially proving the vaccine works.
Roche said the test, which received emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in November, could provide quantitative evidence of the presence and level of antibodies that develop in response to Moderna’s vaccine candidate.
The Moderna vaccine, which showed 94% efficacy in COVID-19 in late-stage studies in more than 30,000 participants, which gains entry into human cells.
According to Roche, a test performed under laboratory conditions and requiring a blood sample may establish a link between vaccine-induced protection and the level of antibodies in the receptor-binding domain.
“This may play a role in assessing whether a person needs a revaccination, or when, or in answering other clinically relevant questions,” Roche said in a statement.
So far, the need for so-called molecular tests to detect active Covid-19 disease by Roche and other manufacturers has far outstripped supply, although there has been less demand for so-called antibody tests to help determine if a person has been exposed to the infection. new coronavirus and recovered.
Roche hopes that new tests, such as those coupled with the Moderna test, will also contribute to the demand for antibody tests.
