{"id":116951,"date":"2026-09-03T19:15:49","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T19:15:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/116951\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T19:15:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T19:15:49","slug":"does-modernas-mrna-flu-shot-face-a-new-challenge-from-gsk-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/116951\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Moderna’s mRNA Flu Shot Face a New Challenge From GSK?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Moderna MRNA<\/a> recently secured FDA approval for mFlusiva, the first mRNA-based seasonal flu vaccine. The decision is a significant milestone for the company, which gets an opportunity to establish a foothold in another multibillion-dollar market while further diversifying its revenue base beyond COVID-19 vaccines.<\/p>\n

However, even before Moderna has had much time to establish its newly approved vaccine in the market, a new competitive challenge has emerged. GSK plc GSK<\/a> recently announced plans to advance its investigational mRNA-based flu vaccine into late-stage development later this month, following positive phase II study results<\/a>.<\/p>\n

GSK\u2019s Move Reinforces Confidence in Moderna\u2019s mRNA Platform<\/p>\n

Moderna has recently undergone a significant shift in investor sentiment following the positive late-stage results for its personalized mRNA cancer therapy<\/a>\u00a0developed with partner Merck\u00a0MRK<\/a>. The results have helped reinforce the potential of Moderna\u2019s mRNA technology beyond infectious diseases, particularly oncology, providing another indication that the platform could support growth across multiple therapeutic areas.<\/p>\n

GSK\u2019s decision to advance an mRNA-based flu vaccine into phase III development could also be viewed as another sign that large pharmaceutical companies increasingly see mRNA as a viable next-generation technology. Rather than being viewed solely as a competitive development, GSK\u2019s investment in the technology could further strengthen confidence in the broader mRNA platform and its potential across vaccine applications.<\/p>\n

GSK\u2019s Vaccine Could Also Raise the Competitive Bar for Moderna<\/p>\n

GSK\u2019s candidate is important not simply because it uses mRNA, but because it is designed to target two proteins on the surface of the flu virus \u2014 hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). HA helps the virus attach to and enter cells, while NA facilitates the spread of newly formed virus particles from infected cells. By targeting both proteins, GSK is pursuing a potentially broader approach to flu prevention.<\/p>\n

That distinction matters for Moderna because, like most existing flu vaccines, mFlusiva is based on targeting HA. GSK\u2019s advancement of the mRNA vaccine is supported by results from a phase II study, which showed that its flu vaccine generated higher immune responses than standard-dose vaccines in younger adults and high-dose vaccines in older adults.<\/p>\n

This could potentially position GSK\u2019s candidate as a differentiated competitor to Moderna once it reaches the market. However, GSK\u2019s vaccine is still at least a couple of years away from reaching the market and is subject to phase III results, where its efficacy will be tested. This gives Moderna valuable time to establish mFlusiva in the market and build awareness before GSK potentially arrives.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Moderna\u2019s mFlusiva will compete for market share against established non-mRNA-based flu vaccines marketed by GSK, Sanofi SNY<\/a> and CSL Seqirus, all of which have a significant presence in the seasonal influenza market.<\/p>\n

MRNA\u2019s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates<\/p>\n

Shares of Moderna have skyrocketed more than 400% year to date, significantly outperforming the industry<\/a>\u2019s 10% growth.<\/p>\n

\"Zacks
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research<\/p>\n

From a valuation standpoint, the company is currently trading at a premium to the industry. Based on the price-to-sales (P\/S) ratio, the stock trades at 24.28 times forward 12-month sales, higher than the industry average of 1.94 times.<\/p>\n

\"Zacks
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research<\/p>\n

Estimates for Moderna\u2019s 2026 and 2027 loss per share have improved over the past 30 days.<\/p>\n

\"Zacks
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research<\/p>\n

Moderna currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today\u2019s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).<\/a><\/p>\n

Zacks Investment Research<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Moderna MRNA recently secured FDA approval for mFlusiva, the first mRNA-based seasonal flu vaccine. The decision is a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":116952,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[20784],"tags":[21229,20785,21226,21225,21228,21227,21230,47794,29799,21232],"class_list":["post-116951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gsk","tag-futures","tag-gsk","tag-index-market-quote","tag-index-market-quotes","tag-index-market-symbol","tag-index-market-symbols","tag-indices","tag-moderna-inc","tag-mrna","tag-the-globe-and-mail"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/117208716995416014","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116951","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=116951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116951\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}