Moderna’s Chief executive Stephane Bancel said it was “reasonable” to assume we may be approaching the end of the pandemic.
“I think that’s a reasonable scenario,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” when asked about the view that the Covid-19 pandemic may now be in its final stages.
“There’s an 80 percent chance that as the omicron grows or the SarsCov-2 virus evolves, we’ll see fewer and fewer virulent viruses,” he said Wednesday.
He also said there is another “20 percent scenario where we see a subsequent, more virulent omicron mutation.”
“I think we are lucky to be in a world where omicrons are not very toxic, but we still see thousands of people dying every day around the planet from omicrons,” he said.
According to the World Health OrganizationThere were 15.47 million new cases reported in the last 7 days worldwide, and 73,162 deaths during the same period.
The reason we want to expand in Asia is the importance of that region. The reality is this virus won’t go away… this virus will stay with us forever, like the flu and we’ll have to live with it.
Stephane Bancel
Managing Director, Moderna
In January, Moderna announced it has begun a clinical trial to study the safety and effectiveness of a booster shot specifically targeting the omicron variant.
The first participant in the trial was injected with a specific dose of omicron-enhancing drug, according to the company. It is expected to enroll around 600 adults aged 18 and over split into two groups.
Asia expansion plan
Separately, Moderna has announced the plan expanding its presence in Asia.
“The reason we want to expand in Asia is the importance of that region,” he told CNBC.
“The reality is this virus won’t go away, as we’ve said from the very beginning – this virus will stay with us forever, like the flu, and we’ll have to live with it. “
Bancel said he finds Asia’s economic expansion “very exciting” and the company intends to open new subsidiaries in Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong.
The expansion comes as Moderna “continues to scale-up the production and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and future mRNA vaccines and treatments,” the US biotech company said in a statement. know in a statement.
Moderna’s messenger RNA vaccine is currently unavailable in Hong Kong, which recently saw a increase in Covid cases. Bancel said the company is currently “working with the authorities to obtain the license.”
