Daiichi Sankyo positions its COVID-19 vaccine as a booster in Japan

Daiichi Sankyo Co.’s home-grown COVID-19 vaccine, a cutting-edge mRNA shot that’s on the cusp of its final clinical trials, could be used mainly as a booster starting next year for people who have already been immunized, the drugmaker said.

While inoculations from companies including Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE, Moderna Inc. and AstraZeneca Plc. are being rolled out across the globe, many others are still in development. Manufacturers including Daiichi are targeting local markets that don’t have an ample vaccine supply or are anticipating future needs, including booster shots.

"The most likely scenario is that most people in Japan would’ve gotten one of the already-approved vaccines by next year,” said Shizuko Ueno, the project leader for COVID-19 vaccine development at Daiichi Sankyo. "We expect that it could be used as a third booster shot and are looking into running a trial for that as well.”