(Reuters) -Pfizer Inc said on Monday it had dosed the first patient in a trial testing a flu vaccine based on messenger RNA, the same technology used in the COVID-19 shots made by the U.S. drugmaker and BioNTech.
The early-stage trial, conducted in the United States, will test the vaccine in healthy adults ages 65- 85.
“The COVID-19 pandemic allowed us to deliver on the immense scientific opportunity of mRNA. Influenza remains an area where we see a need for vaccines,” said Kathrin Jansen, head of vaccine research and development at Pfizer.
The study will test the safety and immune responses of the vaccine, compared to another FDA-approved influenza vaccine.
(Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
