A vial and sryinge are seen in front of a displayed Moderna logo in this illustration taken January 11, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) said on Tuesday it had begun a late-stage study of its vaccine for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) based on the same technology used to develop its COVID-19 shots.

The only approved product using messenger RNA (mRNA)is COVID-19 vaccine, but Moderna and rival Pfizer (PFE.N) are rushing to tap the potential of the technology to target diseases such as shingles and cancer.

Moderna is developing a vaccine for flu using mRNA technology and said on Friday it would develop three more shots, including one for viral infection shingles.

RSV is a common respiratory virus that generally causes cold-like symptoms, but which can be serious for young children and older adults.

Moderna made the decision to begin the late-stage portion of the study after an independent review of preliminary mid-stage data that suggested the vaccine has an acceptable safety profile in older adults.

Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur

Source: Reuters

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