This advancement is supported by positive results from a phase II study, which showed that the company\u2019s investigational flu vaccine generated higher immune responses compared with standard-dose and high-dose flu vaccines in younger and older adults, respectively. The vaccine was also generally well tolerated.<\/p>\n
Based on these results, the company plans to start a phase III efficacy study on the mRNA-based flu vaccine, which is expected to begin later in September 2026.<\/p>\n
Unlike most existing flu vaccines that primarily target haemagglutinin (\u201cHA\u201d), GSK\u2019s vaccine candidate is designed to target both HA and neuraminidase (\u201cNA\u201d), potentially improving protection against illness and transmission.<\/p>\n
The planned phase III study will be the first study of an mRNA flu vaccine designed to target both HA and NA, per GSK.<\/p>\n
The FDA granted a Fast Track designation to the vaccine candidate for the targeted age indication, reflecting the need for improved flu protection.<\/p>\n
GSK\u2019s Price Performance<\/p>\n
Year to date, GSK stock has increased 6.1% compared with the industry<\/a>\u2019s 9.7% rise.<\/p>\n GSK\u2019s Competition in the Broader Vaccine Market<\/p>\n The advancement of the flu vaccine candidate into phase III marks a significant step for GSK\u2019s mRNA vaccine program. Positive phase III data could support further development of the next-generation flu vaccine and potentially broaden GSK\u2019s seasonal influenza vaccine portfolio.<\/p>\n Despite GSK deciding to advance its mRNA-based seasonal flu vaccine candidate into phase III development, shares of rival vaccine maker Moderna (MRNA Quick QuoteMRNA<\/a> – Free Report<\/a>) jumped nearly 10% yesterday following the announcement of the news.<\/p>\n MRNA probably climbed as investors might have read GSK’s phase III mRNA flu commitment as platform validation rather than a competitive threat to mFlusvia.<\/p>\n Last month, the FDA approved Moderna\u2019s mRNA-based seasonal influenza vaccine, mFlusiva (mRNA-1010), for adults aged 50 years and older. The approval covers the prevention of influenza disease caused by influenza A and B viruses.<\/p>\n mFlusiva is expected to be available for the 2026\/2027 U.S. respiratory season.<\/p>\n GSK\u2019s Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider<\/p>\n GSK currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).<\/p>\n Some better-ranked stocks in the biotech sector are Repligen (RGEN Quick QuoteRGEN<\/a> – Free Report<\/a>) and\u00a0Anika Therapeutics (ANIK Quick QuoteANIK<\/a> – Free Report<\/a>) , both sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see\u00a0the complete list of today\u2019s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Over the past 60 days, estimates for Repligen\u2019s 2026 earnings per share have risen from $1.99 to $2.06, while estimates for 2027 have increased from $2.57 to $2.61 during the same time. RGEN\u2019s shares have gained 3.8% year to date.<\/p>\n Repligen\u2019s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 16.80%.<\/p>\n Over the past 60 days, estimates for Anika Therapeutics\u2019 2026 earnings per share have risen from 41 cents to $1.05, while estimates for 2027 have increased from 46 cents to 95 cents during the same time. ANIK\u2019s shares have surged 119.7% year to date.<\/p>\n Anika Therapeutics\u2019 earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing three quarters, with the average surprise being 950%.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Key Takeaways GSK will begin a Phase III efficacy study of its mRNA flu vaccine later in September…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115218,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[20784],"tags":[8617,20912,20785,4356,371,20908,20910,20911,20909,12356,20913,12357,1828,20914,12358],"class_list":["post-116403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gsk","tag-financial","tag-financial-planning","tag-gsk","tag-investing","tag-investment","tag-investment-advice","tag-online-investment","tag-online-stock-trading","tag-online-trading","tag-quote","tag-quotes","tag-stock","tag-stock-market","tag-stock-quotes","tag-stocks"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/117205339013289476","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116403"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116403\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Zacks](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/181503.jpg\"\/)
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research<\/p>\n