(Reuters) – Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine produced neutralizing antibodies against emerging variants, including the Delta variant first identified in India, in a lab study, the drugmaker said on Tuesday.
The study was conducted on blood serum from eight participants obtained one week after they received the second dose of the vaccine in an early-stage trial.
Vaccination produced antibodies against all variants, including additional versions of the Beta variant first identified in South Africa and three lineage variants first identified in India, including the Kappa and the Delta variants.
The analysis , however, showed a modest reduction in neutralizing antibodies against a few of the newer variants, including Delta, Kappa and Gamma.
“These new data are encouraging and reinforce our belief that the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine should remain protective against newly detected variants,” Chief Executive Stéphane Bancel said.
Earlier in the day, India granted permission to drugmaker Cipla Ltd to import Moderna’s vaccine to the country for restricted use.
(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
