Recently (October 17), Merck & Co. stated that its experimental antibody therapy, clesrovimab, demonstrated 60.4% efficacy in reducing respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in infants. Compared with the placebo, the drug reduced RSV-related hospitalization rates by 84.2%.
The demonstration of clesrovimab's efficacy also marks Merck's official entry into the RSV prevention field. The addition of long-acting antibodies, vaccines, and different types of treatment methods has gradually made this field a battleground fiercely contested by major pharmaceutical companies.The RSV Prevention Track That Major Manufacturers Must Contend ForFDA Approved AstraZeneca and Sanofi's Long-Acting Antibody Beyfortus for Infants Last Year, Which Generated $590 Million in Sales Just in the Second Half of Last Year Despite Insufficient Commercial Readiness (Medicare Access Issues Required Lengthy Ineffective Procedures). It Is Expected That Sales Will Likely See a Significant Increase After the Onset of the Epidemic Season in the Second Half of This Year.In the vaccine field, it is a showdown between GSK and Pfizer.However, GSK and Beyfortus, which currently dominate the vaccine market, do not have much conflict in their markets. The susceptible populations for RSV are infants, young children, and the elderly. GSK's vaccine is only targeted at the elderly market. Therefore, although GSK currently dominates the elderly market, it does not have much conflict with Beyfortus, and in the future, it is unlikely to conflict with clesrovimab if it comes to market.However, the full-year 2023 sales revenue of $1.55 billion from GSK alone shows that — even without the infant and toddler market, the untapped elderly market remains quite significant.In contrast, Pfizer's Abrysvo, although possibly less effective than GSK's vaccine, adopts a multi-market strategy. While targeting the elderly market, this vaccine is also a maternal and infant vaccine, which might actually hinder the sales of Beyfortus. Last year, its sales were also impressive, reaching 890 million U.S. dollars.However, strategically, Moderna may be somewhat disappointing.Although Moderna has successfully pushed its mRNA RSV vaccine to market, it clearly fell short in commercial readiness. The slow rollout has caused the company to miss this winter season — currently, most pharmacy orders are going to GSK and Pfizer.The development of RSV prevention for infants was also abandoned by the company:Moderna had planned to conduct a seronegative clinical trial of mRNA-1345 (also known as mResvia) for infants under 2 years old, but this plan did not advance to higher-level clinical research stages. Instead, in its latest strategic update in September this year, Moderna announced it would halt certain early-stage projects for mRNA-1345, including the clinical development program for infants, in order to optimize its product portfolio and cost efficiency.The company, on the other hand, plans to counterintuitively develop the adult market...Sold $590 Million in Less Than Half a Year After LaunchRSV Vaccine: First-Year Launch Generates $2.4 Billion in Sales
